By Sara Beth Williams—
This year, multiple Citrus Heights City Council candidates have donated money from their own personal businesses, affiliated organizations, or individual self to fund their campaign, including candidates Charles Stone and Susan Powers, and current councilmembers MariJane Lopez-Taff and Jayna Karpinski-Costa.
Spending from all candidates combined topped $49,000. In total, the five candidates have documented almost $67,000 in campaign contributions this election season.
All candidates, including Middleton, spent thousands on printed campaign materials, political consulting agencies, and digital marketing services. Documents show Powers spent hundreds on Meta Facebook advertising, while Karpinski-Costa spent $800 on advertising with Russian American Media, a local newspaper. Middleton also spent several hundred on Discover credit card payments and over $600 on “Public Storage” listing it as “office expenses.”
The Citrus Heights City Council has three seats expiring this midterm election season, with all incumbents running for reelection. Porsche Middleton in District 5 is running unopposed, while Districts 2 and 4 have two challenger candidates running against Lopze-Taff in District 2 and Karpinski-Costa in District 4.
Campaign documents show Middleton spent over $14,000, which is the highest expenditure amount listed among the five candidates. Middleton documented receiving over $13,000 in campaign donations, with the largest contributions being $2,500 from the North Coast States Regional Council of Carpenters Power PAC, $2,000 from Inter-stat Inc., and the Operating Engineers Local Union 3 District 80 PAC, and $1,000 from the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce PAC.
Middleton also received $900 from a USPS postal service custodian, and $700 in total from two Democratic clubs, the JFK Democratic Club, and Women Democrats of Sacramento County.
Stone, who is running against Lopze-Taff for the District 2 seat, filed disclosures showing he received $10,800 in contributions and has spent $4,656. The largest contributions to Stone’s campaign include $10,000 from himself and a handful of other smaller contributions of $250.
Filed campaign documents for Lopez-Taff show she received almost $20,000 in contributions, taking the top spot in total received campaign contributions. Paperwork also shows Lopez-Taff spent just over $11,000 on campaigning for this election.
The largest contributions to the mayor’s campaign include $5,900 from the Associated Builders and Contractors of Northern California PAC, a $2,500 loan from Junior Achievements Sacramento under her role as program manager, a $2,500 donation from the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce PAC, and a $1,000 donation from the Sacramento Area Firefighters local 552 PAC.
Multiple organizations and individuals also donated $500 each to her campaign including longtime Citrus Heights City Councilmember Jeannie Bruins, the Laborers local 185 PAC, the Committee for Homeownership, and California Business Roundtable President Robert Lapsley. Several other smaller donations of $350, $300, $250, and $100 were also received. Notably, Atlas Disposal Industries and Miss Glamorous International donated $250, and Knight Watch Protective Services donated $300.
The Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce also announced an official endorsement for Lopez-Taff in early October.
Powers, running for District 4, has received over $7,000 in contributions and spent $8,229 on her first City Council campaign, documents show.
The largest contributions to her campaign include $1,000 from independent consultant Anh Nguyen and Attorney Kelsey DePaoll, and $500 each from Mark Duncan and Sandra Powers. Several other smaller contributions were noted from individuals including a Summit Christian Preschool teacher, Sacramento Suburban Water District Division 3 candidate Andrew Saunders and the owner of Miller’s Ace Hardware, as well as from businesses, including LART Group Inc., Runs with Scissors Quilt Shop and All American Junk Removal.
Powers has also disclosed a contribution of just over $1,000 to her campaign through her personal business, Power Bookkeeping Service.
Powers has been endorsed by the Sacramento Republican Party.
District 4 incumbent Karpinski-Costa’s campaign documents show she has spent $12,250 on campaigning, and received $17,500 in contributions, including $15,000 to her campaign through her personal veterinary business, Acupuncture Plus. Disclosures in October also show $2,500 contributed to her campaign from the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce PAC.
Karpinski-Costa is also endorsed by the Sacramento Republican Party and by the Citrus Heights Chamber of Commerce.
The second round of financial campaign disclosure documents were due on Oct. 22.
To find a voting location or ballot drop off location near you, see our report on when and where to vote in-person in Citrus Heights.
Catch up on candidate interviews, forum recaps, and other local election coverage before you cast your vote: Visit our Elections page.
