Like many Democrats seeking support from progressive voters, Frankie Carrillo, who is running for a Los Angeles seat in the state House of Representatives, said during an interview with a local Democratic club early in his campaign that oil and tobacco companies He has vowed not to accept campaign funds from.
What Mr. Carrillo didn’t tell them: At the time, he owned $820,000 worth of stock in fossil fuel and tobacco companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Philip Morris, among others, and was using his personal wealth to fund his campaign. Ta.
Mr. Carrillo later said he was “fully sold,” without specifying which shares he had sold. The California Democratic Party does not accept donations from the oil and tobacco industries, saying they are inconsistent with efforts to improve public health and combat climate change.
Now, Mr. Carrillo’s investment portfolio (which he says was seeded with money he received from his wrongful murder conviction in the 1990s) is in the East Side election, where two Democrats are vying for a Sacramento seat. is a point of contention.
“I have kept my promise to campaign without that money,” Carrillo said in a statement to the Times. “I don’t see any discrepancies and I’m sold. Meanwhile, many of those same industries have spent more than $1 million combined against me and my adversaries.”
Frankie Carrillo and Jessica Caroza, both Democrats, are vying to represent Los Angeles’ East Side in the California State Assembly.
(Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times))
Carrillo cited independent spending by Chevron and Pacific Gas & Electric to support fellow Democrat Jessica Caroza. Pacific Gas & Electric is also contributing to the committee supporting Carrillo. Independent spending by lobbying groups in statehouses can influence legislative elections, but candidates cannot directly control them.
Candidates running for California’s state legislature must file a personal financial disclosure statement showing sources of income, gifts, investments, and real estate holdings. Caloza has not reported any investments in Disclosure She Filed In December 2023.
Carrillo is Filing financial disclosures delayedpaid a $300 fine to the state election watchdog agency for missing a reporting deadline before the March primary. After he submitted Statement of economic interestenvironmental advocates supporting Caroza have raised concerns about the contents of his stock holdings worth a total of $92,000 to $820,000 in seven fossil fuel companies and three tobacco companies, as well as dozens of other investments. . (The form must report the investment amount within range.)
“We condemn Mr. Carrillo’s significant investments in oil, tobacco, and coal, which he claims he only sold after they became a campaign issue.” California environmental voters support Mr. Caroza. wrote in a letter last month.
“If he does indeed exit these industries, the timing raises serious questions about accountability and transparency.”
above his campaign websiteCarrillo said he wants to hold polluters accountable for the health risks they pose to communities and help the state transition to a green economy.
He said he did not know he held fossil fuel and tobacco stocks because his financial advisor manages his investments. He said he sold in June 2024, but declined to say which shares he sold when asked by The Times.
The investment builds on a $10 million settlement that Carrillo received from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in 2016.
Carrillo was a teenager when he was falsely accused of fatally shooting a Lynwood man in his car in 1991. He spent 20 years in prison until his murder conviction was overturned in 2011 with the help of the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization that fights illegal acts. Conviction.
“When I was sent to prison, I was 16 years old and poor, so I had no opportunity to invest or learn how to invest,” he told the Times. He said he allocated “a significant portion of the settlement proceeds” to financial advisers to manage them and that he was “not involved on a day-to-day basis” in those investments.
“Once we received this information, we moved our investments and filled out paperwork to correct this,” Carrillo said. “The process took some time, but the problem was resolved.”
