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A firm run by a family that is one of San Diego mayoral candidate Bob Filner's biggest campaign funders has made a $50,000 contribution to proponents of Proposition 28, a measure that would change state legislative term limits in ways that critics claim would favor future incumbent legislative officerholders.
The entity, Meuchadim of California, LP, of Hollywood, Florida, gave the money on May 4 to a campaign committee called Californians for a Fresh Start, according to a disclosure filing posted online by the California Secretary of State's office.
Records show that Meuchadim prinicpals include Jerome Falic, LeonFalic, and Simon Falic, the three Florida brothers behind Duty Free Americas, a giant operator of duty-free shops at airports worldwide and along national frontiers, including the San Ysdiro border crossing, which is undergoing a redesign that has been closely tracked by Duty Free lobbyists.
During the 2009-2010 campaign cycle, individuals related to Duty Free Americas were the biggest single source of campaign funds to Democrat Filner's congressional campaign committee, with $16,800, according to OpenSecrets.org.
The Falics are also backing Filner's current mayoral bid.
As we reported in March, other major contributors to Prop 28 have included L.A. Live Properties, LLC, a corporation run by conservative billionaire Philip Anschutz, whose proposal to build a downtown Los Angeles football stadium has raised concerns here that the Chargers may leave town.
L.A. Live gave $100,000.
Yet another Prop 28 donor is Majestic Realty, the outfit run by the City of Industry's Ed Roski, which kicked in $400,000.
Roski also is seeking to build an NFL football stadium that could motivate the Chargers-owning Spanos family to take the team out of San Diego.
According to a description of Prop 28 posted online by the state Secretary of State, the measure would reduce "the total amount of time a person may serve in the state legislature from 14 years to 12 years," but allow "a person to serve a total of 12 years either in the Assembly, the Senate, or a combination of both."
Republican pundit Jon Fleischman has called the proposal a "scam" designed to increase the time lawmakers could remain in a single chamber of the legislature, increasing their seniority and therefore their power to affect special interest legislation.
"The current term limits law allows a politician to serve a maximum of six years, or three terms, in the State Assembly and eight years, or two terms, in the State Senate.
"Proposition 28 allows a politician to serve 12 years in the State Assembly or 12 years in the State Senate.
"That means Proposition 28 doubles the amount of time a politician can be in the State Assembly and increases by 50% the amount of time a politician can serve in the State Senate."
A firm run by a family that is one of San Diego mayoral candidate Bob Filner's biggest campaign funders has made a $50,000 contribution to proponents of Proposition 28, a measure that would change state legislative term limits in ways that critics claim would favor future incumbent legislative officerholders.
The entity, Meuchadim of California, LP, of Hollywood, Florida, gave the money on May 4 to a campaign committee called Californians for a Fresh Start, according to a disclosure filing posted online by the California Secretary of State's office.
Records show that Meuchadim prinicpals include Jerome Falic, LeonFalic, and Simon Falic, the three Florida brothers behind Duty Free Americas, a giant operator of duty-free shops at airports worldwide and along national frontiers, including the San Ysdiro border crossing, which is undergoing a redesign that has been closely tracked by Duty Free lobbyists.
During the 2009-2010 campaign cycle, individuals related to Duty Free Americas were the biggest single source of campaign funds to Democrat Filner's congressional campaign committee, with $16,800, according to OpenSecrets.org.
The Falics are also backing Filner's current mayoral bid.
As we reported in March, other major contributors to Prop 28 have included L.A. Live Properties, LLC, a corporation run by conservative billionaire Philip Anschutz, whose proposal to build a downtown Los Angeles football stadium has raised concerns here that the Chargers may leave town.
L.A. Live gave $100,000.
Yet another Prop 28 donor is Majestic Realty, the outfit run by the City of Industry's Ed Roski, which kicked in $400,000.
Roski also is seeking to build an NFL football stadium that could motivate the Chargers-owning Spanos family to take the team out of San Diego.
According to a description of Prop 28 posted online by the state Secretary of State, the measure would reduce "the total amount of time a person may serve in the state legislature from 14 years to 12 years," but allow "a person to serve a total of 12 years either in the Assembly, the Senate, or a combination of both."
Republican pundit Jon Fleischman has called the proposal a "scam" designed to increase the time lawmakers could remain in a single chamber of the legislature, increasing their seniority and therefore their power to affect special interest legislation.
"The current term limits law allows a politician to serve a maximum of six years, or three terms, in the State Assembly and eight years, or two terms, in the State Senate.
"Proposition 28 allows a politician to serve 12 years in the State Assembly or 12 years in the State Senate.
"That means Proposition 28 doubles the amount of time a politician can be in the State Assembly and increases by 50% the amount of time a politician can serve in the State Senate."