$15K is NOT OK! Take 2

EAA Members Protest Attempted Endorsement of John Lee with Another $15,000

On Wednesday, January 15, 2020, members attended an emergency Political Action Committee (PAC) meeting. It was called due to our new Governor, Lisa Barr. When the BoG attempted to vote to endorse John Lee for Council District 12 on 01/08/2020 and to give his campaign $15,000 (at IBEW’s request) as an independent expenditure, Governor Barr insisted that the matter be referred to the PAC for review and recommendation.

It was reported that at this point John Lee had been invited to address EAA, but his opponent, Doctor (she’s an astrophysicist!) Loraine Lundquist had not been heard. Members of the PAC, wanting to be fair, invited Dr. Lundquist to give a presentation and submit to questions.

Approximately 10 union members from Department of Transportation, Planning Department, and LAPD attended the meeting, which had not been posted on EAA’s calendar (see image below). They all enthusiastically expressed their wish that Dr. Lundquist be endorsed and stated their reasons for why they opposed endorsing John Lee.

In addition, one member stated she was concerned about the email that went out during the BoG meeting on 01/08/2020 stating that EAA had endorsed John Lee when it wasn’t true. Another point was raised regarding the fear-mongering raised in the same email regarding our pensions. A point that has been clarified for a few as not affecting EAA members by one of our LACERS representatives. “Executive Director” Steve Belhumeur was upset by the number of questions the members were asking. He defended the email by stating that it was posted at IBEW’s request. He also stated (belligerently) that he was not invested in the outcome.

Belhumeur “explained” that the reason for the emergency meeting was that the campaigns needed the endorsements because the elections were in March. Elia Fernandez of LAPD clarified the real reason for the emergency meeting, as stated at the BoG meeting on 01/08/2020, was the $15,000 endorsement had to be approved by Friday (January 17, 2020). Belhumeur left the meeting stating he had a lot to write, implying the members were wasting his time. Ms. Fernandez also addressed the PAC and stated her objection that the meeting had not been posted on the calendar and members only knew about it because because they attended the prior BoG meeting.

The audience was told the rest of the meeting would be closed, so they did not find out what the final recommendations were.

Read more: Say No Thanks to IBEW - EAA Members Urge the EAA Board to Support Loraine Lundquist for CD 12