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Julian Lucas

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Letter of Complaint Filed Against City of Pomona Ethics Commissioner for Violation of Political Campaign Laws

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Updated 8/15/2024 | 9:12 am PT
Updated 9/12/2024 | 3:05 pm PT

On August 8, 2024, the law office of Rutan & Tucker, LLP, submitted a letter of complaint claiming that City of Pomona official Ethics Commissioner John Clifford illegally participated in a City of Pomona ballot measure campaign. They directed the letter to the City of Pomona Attorney Sonia Carvahlo; the California State Attorney General Rob Bonta; and Los Angeles’ District Attorney George Gascon.

The law offices of Rutan & Tucker are representing Pomona Kids First, the political committee that supports the ballot measure, Pomona Fund for Children and Youth Act which will be on the November 2024 ballot. They claim that Ethics Commissioner John Clifford “blatantly” violated the law prohibiting government officials from using public resources for political campaigns and submitted copies of his emails that show that the Commissioner used his government email address to campaign for a “no vote” on the initiative, directing his emails to both private individuals and media outlets -including the LA Times - during city business hours.  

First email sent by Ethics Commissioner John Clifford the public, including various news outlets.

Final email sent by Ethics Commissioner John Clifford.

According to the Pomona Kids First Initiative website, “If approved by voters, the fund will be used for programs and services that promote health and well-being” for the children who reside in the city. If passed, there will be “an allocation of an initial 2% from the city annual actual unrestricted general purpose revenues that will be transferred into the Children and Youth Fund established by this initiative. Following the initial year of the implementation of this initiative, 5% of the city’s annual actual unrestricted general purpose revenues will be allocated towards this fund with an increase of 1% in the years proceeding until 10% is set aside for this fund. Along with establishing this fund, the initiative will establish the Department of Children and Youth whose primary function will be to oversee the implementation of the Children and Youth Fund and ensure that the Children and Youth Fund meets the goals and requirements outlined in the initiative.”


As stated in his email, Ethics Commissioner Clifford has depicted the initiative as a “money grab,” which appears Clifford wants to preserve the status quo. 

Julian Lucas, is a photographer, a purveyor of books, and writer, but mostly a photographer. Don’t ever ask him to take photos of weddings or quinceaneras, because he will charge you a ton of money.

Julian is also the owner and founder of Mirrored Society Book Shop, publisher of The Pomonan.

Pomona City Council Candidate Receives Contribution from a Tax Exempt Business

As we are all preparing for either new leadership and or continuing to keep the current. Issues are ramping up both federally and on the local level. 

The Pomonan recently accessed the campaign filings for District 6 City Council candidate Lorraine Canales and discovered what looks like a campaign finance violation.

On page 17, Canales discloses a $100 campaign contribution received on 6/23/2024 from PCS Family Services, Inc., a tax-exempt  501(c)(3) business (recognized as such in 2018), which Propublica reports generated $938,000 in revenue.

According to the IRS, (Internal Revenue Service) Under the Internal Revenue Code, all section 501(c)(3) organizations are absolutely prohibited from directly or indirectly participating in, or intervening in, any political campaign on behalf of (or in opposition to) any candidate for elective public office. Contributions to political campaign funds or public statements of position (verbal or written) made on behalf of the organization in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office clearly violate the prohibition against political campaign activity.  Violating this prohibition may result in denial or revocation of tax-exempt status and the imposition of certain excise taxes. 

We reached out to both candidate Lorraine Canales and PCS Family Services Inc. To date, neither has responded to our request for comment. 


It all raises the issue that there needs to be more public awareness about campaign finance laws.

Julian Lucas, is a photographer, a purveyor of books, and writer, but mostly a photographer. Don’t ever ask him to take photos of events because he will charge you a lot of money. Julian is also the owner and founder of Mirrored Society Book Shop, publisher of The Pomonan, and founder of Book-Store.

Community Responses: 2024 Mayoral & City Council Poll

By Julian Lucas
Published 12/20/2023 | 11:15 Am PST


Earlier this month, the Pomonan published an election poll, which included the race for Mayor and City Council Districts 1, 4, and 6. Additionally, the Pomonan asked a series of three questions in regards to transparency, accountability & election promises, and what issues voters feel need to be addressed.

The mayoral poll took a shocking turn when candidate California Assembly Member, Freddie Rodriguez from Assembly District 52, announced his candidacy for Mayor. Mayor Tim Sandoval, the incumbent, leading poll popularity was humbled and Rodriguez took a slight lead at the time of the poll’s closing.

Initially, District 1 City Council incumbent, John Nolte, had an enormous lead, but this lead quickly shrunk when Pomona Library Board of Trustees Commissioner Debra Martin made it known she was also running.

District 4’s incumbent, Elizabeth Cole-Ontiveras continues to lose popularity as voters continue to choose between the two other contenders, Chara Swodeck and Guillermo Gonzalez. Gonzalez has a commanding lead over both candidates.

There is no incumbent for the 2024 City Council race for District 6. The three contenders, Lorraine Canales, Miranda Sheffield, and Glenda Barillas are almost level at this point.

When individuals run for office, they promise to perform certain tasks once elected. Since the poll became active on December 4th voters have voiced their concerns about the functionality of the city. 76.6% of voters feel the leadership has not fulfilled their tasks as promised.

Voters also voiced their concerns about the lack of transparency in government. 76.6% feel there isn’t transparency within the government..

57.8% of voters feel Mayor Sandoval has not addressed important issues such as economic development, city budget management, infrastructure improvements, along with social equity and inclusion. While 20.8% voiced their confidence in the Mayor, but 20.1% said they were unsure.

Furthermore, community members were able to voice important concerns regarding what they’d like to see addressed by city leaders. Many concerns were voiced and the majority of what was concerning was crime, prostitution, and the unhoused situation. We have provided a list of items that are important concerns for the people of Pomona. This list does not include all concerns and many of the responders’ concerns were the same.

The concerns they listed tallied in this order: Crime followed by Taxes, Homelessness, Economic Development and Youth Services. 

The poll will close in 5 days, but The Pomonan plans to repoll in the spring and fall. The poll represents 154 people so far. They are responding in a city within a county that are both notorious for low voter registration rates and low voter turnout rates. 

The Pomonan sends an open invitation to all candidates to submit substantive op-eds stating their position on an issue (or issues) that they consider critical to our community. No campaign propaganda, please. The Pomonan plans to publish articles where a candidate takes a stand, explains their position and explains how they plan to address the issue.

Julian Lucas, is a photographer, a purveyor of books, and writer, but mostly a photographer. Don’t ever ask him to take photos of events. Julian is also the owner and founder of Mirrored Society Book Shop, publisher of The Pomonan, founder of Book-Store, and founder of PPABF.