PAC Says It Did Not Aid 2 Who Appeared on Mailer
The leader of a conservative political group helping to finance Orange County school board campaigns said Friday that two Tustin Unified candidates originally listed as receiving contributions from the organization actually just bought space in a slate mailer from the group.
Mark Bucher, the Tustin resident who heads the Education Alliance, said his group paid $350 each for candidates Jonathan W. Abelove and Jane Bauer to be included in an independent conservative slate mailer. Abelove and Bauer fully reimbursed the Education Alliance within days. The Alliance paid the slate-mailer fees for other candidates.
“They’re not our candidates,” Bucher said of Bauer and Abelove, who are running as a team. “But we prefer them over some other candidates.”
The Education Alliance, a political action committee that grew out of last year’s failed voucher campaign, raised more than $36,000 last month and is supporting about 30 candidates in 15 local school board races, according to campaign finance statements.
Abelove and Bauer’s reimbursement was not listed on Education Alliance’s recent campaign finance statement because it came after the filing period’s deadline for contributions, Bucher said.
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