DeMaio’s gold

Former San Diego city councilman and unsuccessful Republican mayoral and congressional candidate Carl DeMaio, who fell to Democratic incumbent Scott Peters in a nasty fight last year, is back on the fundraising circuit. “On Sunday from 1-3 pm key Congressional leaders will be in San Diego for a private boat cruise on the bay,” said an email dispatched to supporters by DeMaio last week. “Can you join me and them for the cruise? I know a lot of attention is being taken up by the Presidential race, but we also have to keep our majority in the House and Senate! Hope you can help!” After falling short in his bid for Congress, DeMaio set up a super PAC called the New Generation Leadership Fund. According to its website, the committee intends to raise money for candidates who “want to reach out to every community to win support and build a true governing majority — welcoming Latinos, Asians, African Americans, Women, LGBT, and youth.”

DeMaio has also been promoting the possibility of running a 2016 statewide initiative to rein in public pension plans. “If we qualify the measure, this will result in an earthquake in California politics!” his email on the topic says. To do so will take money, DeMaio adds. “Just as we did in San Diego, our first step requires we conduct a poll of 2016 voters so we can be sure our measure will pass. With this polling in hand, we can then build a broad coalition and raise funds to get the job done.” The message continues, “We have set up an organization called Reform California to conduct [a] poll and build the coalition.”

The website of Reform California lists Stacia De Los Reyes of The Right Companies, Inc., as the committee’s fundraiser; she did similar duties during DeMaio’s congressional run. The chief executive of Right Companies is Thomas Knepper, a former DeMaio congressional campaign aide and an ex–district director for GOP assemblywoman Marie Waldron, according to his LinkedIn profile. Right Companies has “one of the most extensive donor networks in the country — and raises millions each year for our clients,” says the company’s website.