A nonprofit few voters have ever heard of is carpet-bombing Los Angeles neighborhoods with glossy, district-tailored mailers that cheer on moderate incumbents and hammer progressive councilmembers as the June 2 primary creeps closer. Residents in Highland Park, South L.A., and on the Westside say they have received multiple pieces that look homegrown but obscure who is footing the bill, raising alarms that outside money is quietly reshaping how City Council races are fought and framed.
Neighbors First, a 501(c)(4) formed last fall, is responsible for many of the mailers, while a second outfit, American Middle Ground, is pushing similar centrist messaging. A filing with the city Ethics Commission shows Neighbors First spent roughly $366,000 on related activities between Jan. 1 and March 31, according to the Los Angeles Times. The Los Angeles Times also reports that consultant Jennifer Rivera, who until last June was a registered lobbyist for McCourt Partners, has been working with the group, and that incorporation paperwork lists San Rafael attorney Steven S. Lucas as an officer.
What the mailers say
The tone shifts depending on where you live. On the Eastside, dark, ominous graphics and big "EXTREME" headlines go after Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez. Over on the Westside, pieces spotlight Councilmember Traci Park in flattering language, touting her work on public safety and wildfire recovery. The Neighbors First website bills the campaign as a coalition "promoting a safer, cleaner, more prosperous and more collaborative city," while American Middle Ground leans into a similar centrist, keep-calm-and-carry-on message.
Who’s running the operation
Local campaign watchers say what is happening in Los Angeles looks like a sequel to tactics used in recent Bay Area fights, where nonprofits have been deployed to nudge municipal races in a particular direction, according to reporting by Think Forward. State registration records show Neighbors First was filed in September 2025 and lists Steven S. Lucas among its officers, according to Bizprofile.
The legal gray area
The mail pieces are carefully worded to avoid explicit "vote for" or "vote against" language, which drops them into the category of "issue advocacy." That approach typically sidesteps city disclosure rules and, critics argue, keeps donors safely in the dark. California Common Cause and the California Clean Money Campaign have urged the Los Angeles Ethics Commission to investigate these kinds of ads, warning that they represent a new level of outside influence in city politics, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
Local reaction
Voters on the receiving end say the glossy mailers are long on drama and short on transparency. One Highland Park resident told reporters he could not find any usable contact information on the pieces, let alone a clear sponsor. Former councilmember Mike Bonin and neighborhood organizers have blasted the strategy as a sharp break from past norms around disclosure and campaigning, a concern explored in local analysis by Think Forward.
What to watch
With the June 2 primary less than a month away, no one expects the mailbox blitz to slow down. Observers are bracing for more targeted mail, fresh billboards and a wave of digital ads, along with intensifying pressure on regulators to trace the money behind them. Transparency advocates point to statewide efforts to tighten public-financing and disclosure rules as the longer-term fix, work tracked by groups such as Common Cause California.
