Los Angeles Times: A small-city mayor takes on big money and political propaganda

Los Angeles Times: A small-city mayor takes on big money and political propaganda

“Corporations can essentially buy elected officials ... by pumping money into getting their preferred candidates into office,” or by opposing those “not as beholden or sympathetic,” said Sean McMorris of California Common Cause, a nonprofit good-government organization.

Steve Young could have enjoyed a nice, quiet retirement in this charming waterfront community in the northern part of the Bay Area.

But Young is a sociable type and was eager to make new acquaintances after he and his wife moved here in 2012. He’s not the kind to hang out in bars, the 70-year-old Young said, and he doesn’t play any competitive sports. So one way to meet folks, he figured, was to serve on a local board or commission.

After several interviews, Young landed a spot on Benicia’s Planning Commission; it helped that he had spent his career in local government, retiring as a leader of Sacramento’s Housing and Redevelopment Agency. His appointment to the commission led to his election to the City Council, which in turn positioned Young for a successful 2020 run for mayor — and a fight with the oil company that looms large in this small city.

Young’s victory, and the deep-pocketed campaign against him, has placed him at the intersection of two of the more insidious trends in politics today: the flood of limitless money and the gutting of local news media, which has left a void too easily filled by propaganda and misinformation. …

In the last two elections, Valero spent hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting its preferred candidates for mayor and City Council, and targeting those, like Young, who favored tighter regulation of its refinery. (The name of Valero’s political action committee, Working Families for a Strong Benicia, is obviously more palatable than Big Oil Company Spending Huge Sums to Keep Small Community Under Its Thumb.)

Major corporations certainly have a right to weigh in on matters affecting their businesses, their employees and the communities where they operate. According to the Supreme Court, that constitutes political speech protected by the 1st Amendment. Corporations are entitled to as much speech as they care to purchase, which is considerably more than your typical voter or candidate for local office can possibly afford.

“Corporations can essentially buy elected officials … by pumping money into getting their preferred candidates into office,” or by opposing those “not as beholden or sympathetic,” said Sean McMorris of California Common Cause, a nonprofit good-government organization.