Stand for Children: Using Its Oregon Money to Influence Louisiana’s 2019 BESE Election
I have been watching for out-of-state money influencing Louisiana’s October 2019 state board of ed (BESE) elections.
On its 09/10/19 filing, one PAC, Stand for Children LA IEC, reported $420K in contributions; it reported spending $168K on six BESE candidates:
- James Garvey (Dist 1)
- Sandy Holloway (Dist 3)
- Ashley Ellis (Dist 5)
- Ronnie Morris (Dist 6)
- Holly Boffy (Dist 7)
- Preston Castille (Dist 8)
The report includes $192K in contributions first reported on this filing. All of the money came from Stand for Children’s national office in Portland, Oregon.
Not one dollar came from a Louisiana contributor.
Some background on Stand for Children and its presence in Louisiana politics:
Oregon-based Stand for Children has three PACs on file in Louisiana:
- Stand for Children LA PAC, formed in August 2012.
- Stand for Children, Inc., presumably formed in October 2012.
- Stand for Children LA IEC, formed in September 2014.
The last on the list, Stand for Children LA IEC, is the primary PAC in usage. However, according to its 09/10/19 filing, Stand for Children LA PAC has $60K, all from Stand for Children in Oregon, and all expressly for supporting BESE incumbent Holly Boffy (Dist 7).
All three Stand for Children LA PACs are almost exclusively operated using money coming from Stand for Children’s national office in Portland, Oregon.
Stand for Children operates its state branches from its national perch in Oregon, CONTINUE READING: Stand for Children: Using Its Oregon Money to Influence Louisiana’s 2019 BESE Election | deutsch29
