With several large contributions, Gabe Quinto takes huge lead in fundraising for El Cerrito City Council race
While challengers Kimberly White and Wally Nowinski took an early lead in fundraising in September with donations coming largely from individuals, most of them El Cerrito residents, incumbent Gabe Quinto has surged ahead. For the period ending Oct. 17, Quinto’s committee reports $43,048.56 in donations. His campaign reported another $1,000 contribution received Oct. 19. In addition, “The Committee for Jobs and the Economy, Sponsored by Energy Companies” reports spending $46,860 in support of Quinto.
The largest contributions to Quinto’s campaign committee, as listed on his FPPC disclosure forms, are
- $5,900 Plumbers & Steamfitters U.A. Local 342 PAC Fund, Concord
- $5,900 from the LCCC PAC, a Bi-Partisan Coalition of Municipal, County, Latino Appointed and Elected Leaders Restricted Use Account,
- $5,000 from Service Employees International Union Local 1021 Candidate PAC - Small Contribution Committee, Sacramento
- $3,000 International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1230 All Purpose Account PAC, Sacramento
- $3,000 BAJAPAC, San Francisco
- $2,600 from Dynamic Networking LLC, Martinez
- $2,500 East Bay Jobs PAC ℅ Nielsen Merksamer Parrinello Gross & Leoni LLP, San Rafael
- $2,000 El Cerrito Police Employees’ Association PAC
- $2,000 International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 302 Community Candidates Candidates PAC, Martinez
White’s committee reports a total of $23,573 in contributions as of Oct. 17, primarily from El Cerrito residents. The largest contributor is an El Cerrito resident who has donated a total of $2,025 to White’s campaign. The only donation not from an individual is $500 from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee - California Association of Realtors, Los Angeles
Nowinski’s committee reports $20,140.50 in contributions as of Oct.17, primarily from El Cerrito residents. His largest contributor is also an El Cerrito resident who has given $2,025. His only donation not from an individual is also $500 from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee - California Association of Realtors, Los Angeles.
Mary Ann “MJ” Jawili reported $9,851 in contributions as of Oct. 17. Her donations have all been from individuals, primarily El Cerrito residents.
The disclosure form for Carolyn Wysinger, the second incumbent, was not yet on the city website as of 5 pm Oct. 22. An earlier disclosure form, due Sept. 24, was sent by email, delaying posting to the website by a few days. The El Cerrito Police Employees PAC in its disclosure statement reports a $2,000 contribution to Wysinger. Wysinger earlier reported $2,000 from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers 302 Community Candidates PAC, Martinez, and $1,000 from Plumbing Industry Consumer Protection Fund, Martinez.
Challenger Forrest Lanning has filed a form with the city indicating he does not plan to raise or spend $2,000 or more, and therefore is not required to file a list of his donors.
For a complete list of the donations reported so far by the candidates and the donors’ names, see the Campaign Disclosure page of the city website. The candidate committee forms also list expenditures made so far. Note that the $46,860 spent in support of Quinto but not by his campaign committee is under “Major Donor/Independent Expenditure Filings”
https://www.elcerrito.gov/215/Campaign-Disclosure
For more election news including coverage of and links to recordings of the two candidate forums, see https://elcerritowire.blogspot.com/p/nov-3-2026-el-cerrito-city-council-and.html