SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. – In seeking the House seat in California’s newly formed 31st Congressional District, Pete Aguilar, the mayor of Redlands and former head of government relations for Arrowhead Central CU, has a major ally – a new Super PAC formed by the California & Nevada CU League called Restoring Our Community.
Super PACs, better known for their assistance in this year’s presidential primaries, were created under the 2010 Citizens United court case and allow corporations and individuals to send unlimited amounts on behalf of candidates – as long as it is not coordinated with the candidate’s campaign. In this case, the California/Nevada League created the new Super PAC with a $250,000 contribution April 27. The PAC had $325,000 to spend as of Friday, according to Federal Election Commission records. Aquilar’s own campaign spending – $231,000 as of May 16 – has been overshadowed by assistance from the leagues’ Super PAC, according to FEC reports.
The credit union community has come out strongly for the former credit union exec, with contributions coming in from executives at Xceed Financial FCU, BECU, San Mateo CU, Cal Com CU, Alaska USA FCU, Alta Vista FCU and CUNA, among others.
Aguilar, however, has a steep road to climb if the candidate survives next week’s non-partisan primary with likely opponent Republican Gary Miller, who is a seven-time incumbent in the former 42nd District.
Miller, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee who is championing the cause of the home mortgage deduction, also has a powerful ally – the National Association of Realtors, which has already spent $1.2 million to help his reelection. In squaring off against Realtors, credit unions have picked one of the best-financed interest groups in Washington, with the group expected to spend more than $10 million this election cycle.
