Chevron. Exxon. Shell. Valero. BP. Conoco Phillips. U.S. Oil and Refining Co. These are just a few of the companies that make up the Western States Petroleum Association, also known as WSPA.
According to WSPA’s website, the big oil lobbying group, “is a…trade association that represents companies that account for the bulk of petroleum exploration, production, refining, transportation and marketing in the five western states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington.”
Here is why this matters:
Last week, POLITICO broke the news that candidate for California Lieutenant Governor in 2018, Eleni Kounalakis’ “most recent statement of economic interests, [shows that] Kounalakis holds a financial stake in the Sacramento building where none other than the Western States Petroleum Association is housed.”
The story also noted that “[Eleni Kounalakis] has personally benefited from petroleum.”
How?
Well, by providing a home base to the big oil-lobbying group in the state capitol, for years, Kounalakis has been collecting rent from the tenant, and personally profiting a fortune from their occupancy in her building.
We know this because since WSPA is technically a non-profit trade association, they are required to file their form 990’s with the IRS. Since moving into Kounalakis’ building in 2004, the Meridian Plaza, located at 1415 L Street, which is when Kounalakis also purchased the building, the big oil lobbying group has paid Kounalakis an estimated more than $2.8 million since 2005 in “occupancy” expenses, according to IRS reports.
Perhaps using some of the money she gained from those oil profits, Kounalakis is now self-funding her political campaign for California Lieutenant Governor. In fact, for the June 30, 2017 report, she injected a significant $500,000 of her own money into her campaign war chest. It remains an open question how much more personal cash she’ll move into her campaign.
Beyond personally profiting from the fossil fuel industry, Kounalakis has essentially housed and thus allowed the big oil lobby to have a home that is walking distance from the California State Capitol. As a result, WSPA has been geographically and strategically positioned to launch their anti-environmental lobbying crusades in the capitol, from efforts to expand offshore oil drilling in California to broadening hydraulic fracking in the state, to fiercely opposing further tough environmental regulations on the oil industry in California, and more.
In response, Kounalakis’ campaign said to POLITICO in late November of 2017 that, “the candidate only recently became aware of the tenant, not knowing every tenant in the building… said she is donating revenue derived from WSPA's tenancy - estimated at a few thousand dollars a month - to the Fund for Combating Global Warming and Eliminating Reliance on Fossil Fuels, a fund administered by the Sacramento Region Community Foundation.”
Seems like a commendable response, but a deeper look into the story and the candidate’s reaction begs the question of whether or not her campaign is being totally honest and transparent with the public.
Here’s why:
Back in June of 2017, Kounalakis submitted her Form 700 to the City & County of San Francisco Ethics Commission for her work on the San Francisco Port Commission. On the actual report, it was Kounalakis who listed the Western States Petroleum Association as a tenant in her building. Here is a link to the Form 700.
In addition to providing a home base and personally profiting off of big oils lobbying efforts in Sacramento, Kounalakis has been campaigning as a purist progressive who signed a pledge not to accept oil money. Public disclosure reports paint a different picture, however.
According to the California Secretary of State’s website, the candidate also accepted a $5,000 contribution from John Catsimatidis, the CEO of United Refining Company, and a longtime right-wing donor. We know this because Kounalakis and her campaign itself actually reported the contribution, and specifically wrote the donor’s name and occupation on Kounalakis finance report that was submitted to the state.
So, what can we glean from these recent revelations that Kounalakis has given a home base and launching pad to California’s big oil lobby, that she’s received millions from big oil in occupancy expenses, and that she broke her pledge not to accept oil money?
Well, for starters, progressives should openly question Kounalakis’ judgment and values as 1415 L. Street is her building, and as an owner, she can decide who to have as a tenant and who not to have. They should also question her authenticity, when Kounalakis claims that she is a true progressive, particularly after reports show the candidate has received millions from big oil and other bad actors in occupancy expenses.
Next, they should question her sincerity about knowing who she is receiving money from. Her campaign’s response in November 2017 to POLITICO seems somewhat disingenuous given that the candidate submitted a public disclosure Form 700 back in June of the same year, specifically listing WSPA as a rent-paying tenant to Kounalakis.
Lastly, progressives should hold Kounalakis accountable to her two pledges. The first pledge is not to accept oil money for her campaign. That means she should not donate any personal funds to her campaign, because those funds, according to public reports, were derived from the oil lobby. And next, she ought to follow through on her promise to donate revenue derived from WSPA to pro-environment organizations, but do so responsibly and immediately, while disclosing to the public the date of the donation she plans to give, along with the total amount of her contribution.
Kounalakis was right when she said, “Our great state deserves leaders who are not beholden to big corporate interests.” She should hold herself to the same standard.
Alex Gallardo-Rooker is Female Vice-Chair of the California Democratic Party*
*Titles for Identification Purposes Only.