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Campaign financing by the three candidates for the El Camino Healthcare District’s two seats are a study in contrasts, according to reports filed Oct. 6.
Candidate and current Mountain View City Council member Margaret Abe-Koga reported funding her campaign entirely through monetary contributions. The reports cover campaign fundraising and spending for the period ending Sept. 30.
Candidate and practicing neurologist Peter Fung, on the other hand, paid for most of his campaign through loans to himself. While Abe-Koga garnered thousands of dollars from Mountain View firefighters, incumbent David Reeder received most of his contribution from anesthesiologists.
All three candidates reporting having at least $20,000 in their campaign account by the end of September, but spending varied considerably. Fung reported spending $18,778, Abe-Koga spent $9,737 and Reeder spent $7,204. On campaign expenditures, Abe-Koga and Reeder spent a bulk of their money on campaign advertisements and printing costs. Fung reported spending more than $6,000 campaign consultant services.
Margaret Abe-Koga
Margaret Abe-Koga was the first candidate to announce her run for the health care district board, and her finances followed suit. She received a total of $26,973 as of Sept. 30, but raised most of that money — about $18,500 — by June 30. She started receiving contributions as early as April 16, when Gary Kremen, Match.com CEO and candidate for the Santa Clara Valley Water District board, contributed $1,000 to her campaign.
Top contributors to Abe-Koga include the Mountain View Firefighters IAFF 1965, a local firefighter association, which contributed $4,000; $1,000 from the Democratic Activist for Women Now organization; $1,000 from the Evan Low for Assembly 2014 campaign committee; and $500 from the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council.
Abe-Koga spent over $4,500 for campaign printing services to Pacific Printing in San Jose.
When Abe-Koga dropped her bid for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in 2012, she still had some funds remaining from that campaign. Abe-Koga said she has since transferred that money to a committee called “Margaret Abe-Koga for Supervisor 2016” in order to hold onto the funds, but told the Voice that she has no intention for running for supervisor in 2016 if she is elected to the El Camino Healthcare District. She said she intends to serve on the health care district board for the entire four-year term.
Peter Fung
Peter Fung contributed $24,000 in loans to his own campaign, accounting for over 80 percent of his total contributions and bringing his total amount raised to $28,375. Other contributors include: $1,000 from retired Los Altos Hills resident Beatrice Hom; and donations of between $100 to $250 from 12 physicians who work with El Camino Hospital, including eight anesthesiologists from Fidere Anesthesia Consultants Inc.
Fung spent $5,505 on campaign signs from Cogs Signs in Modesto, and $6,279 in campaign consulting costs with Meridian Pacific, a firm that specializes in political consulting and public affairs. He also reported spending $3,000 on filing fees with the registrar of voters, and $1,672 on advertisements in local newspapers.
David Reeder
Incumbent David Reeder reported spending the least of the three candidates, with total expenditures of a little more than $7,200. Most of the money was spent on newspaper ads and printing campaign materials.
Reeder raised over $20,000 in monetary contributions as of Sept. 30, and made $2,000 in loans to his campaign. A lion’s share of the contributions Reeder received comes from physicians with Fidere Anesthesia Consultants, Inc., a group of anesthesiologists who practice at El Camino Hospital. Reeder’s campaign received 34 contributions of $250 each from physicians with the group, with some physicians donating more than once, for a total of $8,500.
Other contributions to Reeder’s campaign included: $1,000 from Edward Taft, a retired Los Altos Hills resident and philanthropist; and $500 from Munjal Shah, a member of the El Camino Hospital foundation board and founder of the health company Health Equity Labs.
Well, I’ll be voting for Abe-Koga. We need her independent and clear headed help vav health care issues.
This healthcare district has been shady for so long. These 2 guys seem to want to ensure their friends’ livelihood – they are too close to the action and seem pretty cozy with the doctors. European doctors are at least as good and make much less than these guys over here. I am giving Abe-Koga a try mainly because she is further removed from this healthcare district’s cookie jar.
Who is for medical marijuana? And bringing it to the city so the sick don’t have to go all the way down to San Jose?
How much compensation does a board member receive?
My quick search of available documents shows that the meeting pay ($100×5) probably doesn’t cover the cost of their dry cleaning. The state controller shows $0. But everyone is smiling in their head shots.
Until very recently, they earned $0 but now they get a small amount. That must be why Member found conflicting information.
I won’t vote for Abe-Koga. She’s very nice and sweet, but at several Ciy Council meetings this year she failed to understand/grasp what was being discussed.
I also will pass on Ms Abe-Koga this time. She seems intent on continually holding any office as if holding a local office was career-like employment.
From what I’ve seen these career politicians become more and more inept the farther up the ladder they ascend. I think some different opinions and different people should get a chance.
Abe Koga, as before, is receiving her funding from the local public employee unions. The article should make this clear, instead of simply referring to them as “Regional Councils” or “associations”.
My guess is the board members are paid through the $93M professional consulting line item, maybe not all of it, but enough to keep everyone smiling. Their staff is provided.
The doctors are just trying to keep it ‘in network’, while Abe Koga is a professional politician in the vein of a less-strident Sally Lieber. I’ll vote ‘none of the above’. Meh.
I am voting for Abe-Koga.
@ Resident: I fear you misconstrued Abe-Koga in those meetings. She does not speak a lot – she does listen a lot. When she does have something to say, it is thoughtful and typically very intuitive. I have not seen her falter at grasping any conversations.
@ Thanks for your Service: Some people do, in fact, spend their “career*” in public service. I don’t think that every public servant “become more and more inept”. I think some people reach for positions they are not ready for just to get to the next thing (which is why they “become inept”). So, you do have to see if the person running is a good fit.
Abe-Koga is actually a “different opinion/different person” at the Healthcare District. I think her approach of research and deep listening will benefit the District.
* If you can call it a career, when you are paid a small stipend. They certainly could not live on that pay.
So Abe-Koga had funds from 2012 and decided to file a campaign for 2016? Does that even make sense? It’s clear that Abe-Koga wanted to be Supervisor but dropped out when Senator Simitian joined the race. I think it’s clear where her real interests are. We’ll see in 2016.
I’ll skip on voting for Abe-Koga. If anything, her actions are disingenuous. At worse, they are untruthful.
I don’t like the “I need to be in any elected office” mentality of Abe-Koga. Careers are not defined by pay nor are career politicians.
It makes sense she’s not spending a lot for the board race, she’s got her sights and wallet set on 2016….oh, but she promises to stay on the board if she’s elected and not run for Supervisor. A promise from a career politician.
No thank you.
Its disingenuous to say Abe-Koga is just nice. She is nice – I could probably use much more of her “niceness” in my public elected job. (About $100 a meeting). What I learned about Margaret – after her ‘niceness’ talk – listen -she has done her homework. On council – listen to the “niceness” for the first half of her talk – then ‘the policy’. Margaret was extremely efficient in putting the screws on the old – dysfunctional Hospital District by her work on the county oversight board on special districts. Threatened to close-the-mother-down!
So, I would hate to elect her in 2014 and lose her in 2016 – but she still looks a lot better than ‘the old medical boys’. My guess – she will ‘nicely’ shake things up. (or keep them shaken).
concerning the hospital district
i heard that their annual community funding goes mostly to fund programs that benefit those groups that already get there care there
rather than going to independent community organizations to help those outside the hospital’s current clientel
anyone know anything about this
mel
I have personally heard a private comment that Abe-Koga plans to run for Supervisor in 2016, leaving a 4-year term for the Healthcare District Board seat empty after only 2 years. I am not sure if this would result in the need to use tax payer money for a special election to replace the empty seat, or if this would be an appointed position until the next election.
In addition, one should not consider a position such as this as an opportunity to promote the “ol’ medical boys”m rather the opportunity to elect knowledgable, people experienced in healthcare to lead our hospital for the next four years.
Reeder is not a physician, although he has held a seat on this board for many years. He is obviously knowledgeable of the hospital district’s mission and needs and has proven dedication, but is it time to bring in new insight? I would be delighted to have another candidate with the type of healthcare knowledge, leadership and experience to bring new insights. I do not see such a person on the ballot, unfortunately.
Dr. Fung is an “ol medical boy”, but consider that he will most likely be required to give up his position as medical director of the stroke program, thereby loosing a good deal of income, one has to question his motives. A physician who has passion for the betterment of an organization of which he has intricate knowledge and is willing to give up position; I am wondering what the problem is with that.
People don’t seem to complain when the “ol medical boys” provide excellent medical care or save a loved one’s life. No doubt our medical system is much different than that of Europe, in one part – compensation. Run-away big insurance companies and litigation practices (be watchful of prop 46 who’s main aim is to increase litigation pay-outs!) are major contributors to that fact of life. But a physician who wants to have a say in how the business of medicine is carried out is no different than the engineer turned CEO of a new start-up. We need people familiar with the business of healthcare to manage healthcare. I don’t believe this is Abe-Koga’s area of expertise.
Finally, @ Mel who questions the use of the healthcare district’s money being returned to the community. You can see how it was spent last year by looking at El Camino Hospital’s website. http://www.elcaminohospital.org/Portals/0/documents/Publications/Community_Benefit13.pdf
I note two of many supported organizations who are not consumers of the hospital. RotaCare Clinic is one. This clinic provides FREE medical care (including prescription medication) to anyone who lives in Santa Clara County and does not have health insurance. It is operated through community funds and the volunteer efforts of over 1200 “ol medical boys (and girls).” The second notable example is Road Runners. Road Runners is a transportation service provided by dedicated El Camino Hospital volunteers. Transportation is provided for medical, dental, and El Camino Hospital outpatient services. In addition Road Runners will take appointments for door-to-door transportation to senior centers, local banks, barber and beauty shops. Your appointment only needs to be within a ten mile radius of El Camino Hospital Mountain View.
I am not a physician. I do work at El Camino Hospital and am proud to be working at one of the few independent, not for profit hospitals in the Bay Area. We are operating at a world-renowned level of care and service. This is not by accident or luck. It is by the foresight and vision of the community who realized, more than 50 years ago, the need for a hospital closer than San Jose or Stanford and did something about it, followed by strong leadership from the elected and appointed board members. I prefer to have people knowledgeable about the changing climate in healthcare to navigate us through the next 50 years, maintaining our independent status of a world-class community hospital.
I’m surprised an article about campaign spending doesn’t mention one sentence about outside interest spending. I’ve received three expensive Abe-Koga flyers all from the labor unions. Voters deserve to know whose pockets the candidates have accepted money from and who they will beholden to with their votes.
Abe-koga announced that she was running for county supervisor in 2012 then backed out when Joe Simitian announced. She looked into running for the SCV Water Board in 2014 then backed out when it appeared she would have trouble winning. She probably hoped her announcement for the Health Care District would scare off any competition but, oh well, there are 3 candidates for two seats. Career politicians do not appreciate serious competition. They like winning by default – which often occurs when incumbents are not investigated and seek re-election. Does any know the current federal deficit or even the current budget year shortfall? Not in local government. Locally, voters approve the borrowing of more and more money as if the federal government’s deficits did not exist.
Don’t be fooled by Career politicians or the papers that support them. Abe-Koga is supported by big time labor unions and most of the campaign contributions are under reported.
My math shows $55,855 so far of additional spending in support of Abe Koga… see below from FPPC filings. I would rather have a doctor with real world experience on the health board than a CAREER POLITICIAN supported by labor unions any day. Dr. Fung has been instrumental in making El Camino Hospital one of the most successful stroke treatment centers in the country.
I for one am tired of career politicians. I think most would agree.
From the FPPC:
South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council Committee on Political Education
Sponsored by South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council Expenditure
In support of Abe-Koga for El Camino Hospital Board (misspelled – should be El Camino Healthcare District Board)
10/5 Mailer 1 Design $ 500.00
Mailer 1 Printing 11,376.75
10/9 Mailer 2 Design 500.00
Mailer 2 Printing 11,734.78
10/13 Mailer 3 Design 500.00
Mailer 3 Printing 11,174.52
10/19 Mailer Postages 1 4,760.75
2 4,775.87
3 4,775.52
10/23 Mailer 4 2,555.44
10/24 Mailer 5 3,206.27
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