On April 5, a District One resident filed a state-mandated fundraising form, a “Candidate Intention Statement” with the Seal Beach City Clerk’s office. That’s news because the form has to be filed before fundraising begins.
So far, he’s the only Seal Beach person to file California Fair Political Practices Commission forms with the city government.
The City Council election will be held in November. The council has not yet “called” the election. In a Deputy City Clerk Dana Engstrom wrote that “this item will be agendized at one of the Council meetings in June.”
City government candidates are required to file the 501 with their local before they can start raising money. “They can’t start raising money before filing. There’s no ‘starting point’ per se, but obviously there are deadlines,” according to Jay Wierenga, communications director for the Fair Political Practices Commission.
The documents are on the city website under “City Clerk—FPPC Filings-Disclosure statements.”
In addition to filing Form 501, a glance at the website found that Christopher A. DeSanto also filed a Fair Political Practices Form 410 “Statement of Organization Recipient Committee” on Feb. 15.
The committee’s name will be “Christopher DeSanto for Seal Beach City Council 2022,” according to Form 410. He is seeking the District One council seat, according to Form 410. “As a resident of Seal Beach for 8 years, looking to serve my community in a more meaningful way,” DeSanto wrote in an April 11 email.
“Tried to apply and offer my services on the board, but was not selected. City Council is another way I could serve my community,” DeSanto wrote.
“Launching early to cover as much ground as I can, perhaps every voter If I can. Hoping to have my website launch on or around April 15,” DeSanto wrote. The Sun asked District Five Councilwoman Sandra Massa-Lavitt if she had heard of anyone planning to run for her seat. (Massa-Lavitt has termed out.) She wrote that a couple of people had expressed an interest in the council opening. “When the time comes it will be apparent who they are,” she wrote. District One Councilman Joe Kalmick has not filed paperwork, but he has been endorsing candidates in other races. In Monday, April 11 phone interview, he confirmed that he would seek re-election. However, he was not filing papers now. It’s too soon. “I’m running for a second term because I feel that there is still a lot left to accomplish during my tenure on the council,” Kalmick said.
