Follow the money.
Five investigations into who funds Salinas politics — and where that money actually goes. Pulled from public FPPC Form 460 filings, organized by story.
The whole picture
Every dollar Salinas council campaigns raised and spent, in one view: who gave it, which committee took it in, and what it paid for. Hover or tap any band to follow a single thread.
What to notice: agriculture, real estate, labor, and individual donors enter from the left; council committees sit in the middle; mail, consulting, media, and payroll spending leave on the right.
Money in from FPPC ; money out from . Donor categories are assigned by name and employer. How we categorize →
The Rent Control Fight
Two committees, two strategies. The side against rent control raised more money — from a quarter of the donors.
Independent Expenditure PACs
Three independent committees raised $290,800 to influence Salinas elections from outside any candidate’s campaign.
Where the Money Went
$1.39M moved through seven committees to vendors, consultants, mail houses, and payroll.
The Donor Directory
Every person and entity that wrote a check to a Salinas council campaign — 383 unique donors, searchable and filterable.
Related Donors
When a corporate parent gives under several names, or a family donates in lockstep — that’s a network. We group them.
How we cover this
Every number on this page comes from FPPC Form 460 filings (Schedules A and E) submitted to the City of Salinas NetFile portal. We deduplicate amended filings and use the most recent version of each transaction. We don’t add commentary — the data tells the story.