Do Riverside County Taxpayers Fund Extreme-Leftist Non-Profits Via Local Politicians? 

I have never been an extreme-leftist gangster, but if I was, I would ensure that public money was used to fund the activities of me and my gangster pals. A purview of Riverside County non-profit organizations suggests this may be happening.

Background

In February of 2023, Desert Truth ran an article exposing how a Coachella Valley Unified School District trustee, Trinidad Arrendondo, formed an LLC and was hired by a neighboring district—Desert Sands Unified School District (DSUSD)- as a consultant to teach kids about “love.”  Arrendondo was elected in 2020 and formed his TA Mentoring Services LLC in 2021.  

On August 17, 2023, a California Public Records Act request was submitted to the DSUSD seeking documents pertaining to Arrendondo’s activities. Five months later, on January 5, 2024, the DSUSD finally responded to the request with 181 pages of responsive documents.  The responsive documents revealed that Arrendondo was utilizing a program, “Nobel Youth” in DSUSD middle schools to engage kids in “Restorative Circles,” which may require a deep dive.  More revealing, however, were documents from Arrendondo to a DSUSD high school pitching an anti-tobacco law campaign on behalf of the local non-profit, Regional Access Project (RAP).  

Another document, a reply from DSUSD employee Tori St. Johns to one Mireya Reyes from the RAP foundation, contained an invitation link for a RAP board meeting. St. Johns was also prominent in the mandatory training (indoctrination) of elementary school principals in the use of age-inappropriate gender ideology books for kids as young as Kindergarten, as seen in this California Globe article.

So begins the pulling of a thread that leads to a labyrinth of non-profits, presided over by Riverside County elected officials, that obtain millions of taxpayer dollars from the county, and then donate those monies to each other.

Before we dive down the deep and twisted rabbit hole, let’s take note of how politicians take advantage of non-profits, to skirt laws and promote their agenda.  

First, the liberal outlet Pro Publica asserted in 2012 that “…some groups said they would not engage in politics when they applied for IRS recognition of their tax-exempt status.”  In that article, Pro Publica pointed to specific areas on non-profits IRS 990 forms to scrutinize: If they checked “yes” to political activity, but also to look at “other expenses” for unreported, or hedged reporting.

In a more recent article, the Brennan Center for Justice pointed out in 2018 that politicians use non-profits to “to control and use to promote their respective agendas.” Furthermore, the article recommend that citizens should “identify those nonprofits that pose a major risk of corruption – determining whether an elected official or close associates control the group.”

The issue addressed in this article is not dark money surreptitiously supporting politicians, rather the issue is politicians’ control of non-profits to surreptitiously support their far-left agendas using taxpayer monies.  

Of particular interest is the connection between RAP’s board members, and the organizations that they donate to, with the far-left UnidosUS (formerly La Raza), which has been very busy facilitating the illegal invasion at our southern border, according to Brad Jones of the Epoch Times. The San Diego Rapid Response Network (SDRRN) mentioned in that article, was partnered with Jewish Family Services (JFS) and UnidosUS at least until 2019, according to this JFS press release.

Regional Access Project Foundation Board of Directors

From the CPRA responsive document, we can get to the RAP foundation meeting page mentioned in the email. From the meeting page, the agenda can be accessed.  And, from that agenda the draft of RAPs 2021 tax return can be accessed—which can also be found on the IRS pages.  According to Riverside County records, RAP is listed as both a vendor and a business unit.  All told, RAP has received nearly $39 million in taxpayer monies since 2014.

According to RAP 2021 auditors report, the organization was founded in 1992, for the “purpose of enhancing and facilitating health, mental health, and juvenile services in eastern Riverside County, California.”  Furthermore, RAP informs that its primary source of funding “is tax increment funds (sales tax) received under an agency agreement…with the County of Riverside.”  In 2021, 82% of RAP’s funding came from “governmental sources.”

There may have been a dearth in non-profits for a few years however, as Riverside County records show that RAP was able to buy property in Palm Desert in 2017.  The property (Parcel #624290053), located at RAP’s official address of 41550 Eclectic Ave, is an office building on 1.07 acres and valued at over $3 million in 2019, according to RAP’s 990 filing of that year.  The property was bought from Axios Investment LLC, the Coussoulis Family Trust, and Coussoulis, Nicholos (Trustee).

The Players

The RAP board is an interesting assortment of 17 (18 including the CEO) of Coachella Valley elected officials and members of other non-profit organizations, some of which receive grants from RAP.  This would include Riverside County Supervisor (District 4) V. Manuel Perez. The Coachella Valley is in eastern Riverside County comprising eight cities, including Palm Springs.  

First, the past and present elected officials.

The CEO of RAP is Leticia De Lara. De Lara is the only paid member of the RAP board with a salary of $155,862 in 2021. De Lara is also an elected member of the Desert Healthcare District (Area 5) and is a member of the board of directors for that government agency’s foundation.  According to Riverside County records, the foundation has received $4.02 million in taxpayer money since 2018.

The Vice Chair of RAP is Jan Pye, who is also elected to the Coachella Valley’s Cathedral City Council representing district 3.

One Secretary of RAP, Mike Gialdini, belongs to the Thousand Palms Community Council and serves as Riverside County Board of Supervisor V. Manuel Perez’s (Area 4) liaison.

The second Secretary of RAP is Aurora Wilson, a former College of the Desert trustee. Wilson lost her reelection bid in 2022.  Interestingly, Wilson was referred for criminal investigation by the new trustee, Joel Kinnamon.  Kinnamon alleged that Wilson had participated in the “…illegal use of college resources to negatively impact his campaign during last fall’s [2022] trustee election.”

Board member Beatriz Gonzalez is a current College of the Desert trustee (Area 2) and works for the Coachella Valley Unified School District as the director of expanded learning.  Gonzalez is also on the board of the non-profit Riverside County Latino Commission.

Board member Dr. William Kroonen Ed.D (like “Dr.” Jill Biden) is also a former trustee for the College of the Desert and a former Palm Desert City councilman.

Board member Elizabeth Romero is a Riverside County Office of Education board member and a former trustee of the Coachella Valley Unified School District.

Board member Van Tanner is a former Palm Desert City councilman.

Board member Kaina Quintanilla is a current Palm Desert City councilwoman.  Quintanilla is also infamous for bringing lawsuits against Palm Desert to force the city into representative districts, and to force the Marxist concept of Ranked Choice Voting to that City.

Joseph Hayes is the Finance Director of the non-profit Coachella Valley Rescue Mission.

Tori St. Johns (mentioned earlier) is an employee of the Desert Sands Unified School District and a board member of the non-profit Safe Schools Desert Cities Corp, which holds “Pride Proms” featuring Drag Queens named “Daddy Yank Me” for Coachella Valley youth ages 14-24.

Last, but definitely not least, is board member V. Manuel Perez who is a Riverside County Board Supervisor, representing area 4, which includes the Coachella Valley.  Perez is also a former Coachella Valley Unified School District trustee, a former Coachella City councilman, and a former California State Assemblyman.  Perez was appointed to the Board of Supervisors by Governor Jerry Brown in 2017 after the death of Republican John Benoit—Perez is a Democrat.

Rounding out the RAP board are: 

Treasurer Matthew Gonda is a board member of the non-profit Friends of Desert Mountains.

Maria Blue does not appear to sit on the board of any other foundations.

Dr. Craig Borba Ed.D, who is advertised as an educational consultant from Palm Springs.

Claudia Galvez who is the Vice President/Government Relations for the non-profit Inner Care.  Inner Care is also listed as an affiliate UnidosUS.

Mark Moran is the owner of the law firm Moran and Associates.

Rosemary Ortega works for Legends Hospitality.

RAP: What do they do?

According to the Regional Access Project’s 2021 IRS filing, its stated purpose is to fund, and provide guidance, to other non-profits.  Specifically, to other non-profits in eastern Riverside County.

We have already determined that RAP has raked in nearly $39 million from Riverside County taxpayers over the years.  According to RAP’s 2021 return, they granted just $698,350 that year, though they did make over $8 million in grants the year before—about the same amount they received from the County in CARES Act funds.  RAP also reports assets of property, equipment, and buildings valued at $3,471,948 and net assets of $7,069,443.

RAP’s Donations

The next logical step is to figure out which non-profit organizations benefit from RAP’s largesse—or rather, the largesse of the Riverside County taxpayer. The more we go down the labyrinth of the rabbit hole, the more interesting it gets.  RAP’s 2022 IRS Form 990 is not available, but the IRS supplies the 2019 and 2021, the 2020 Form 990 is available from the RAP website.

In 2021, RAP donated to a total of 21 different non-profit organizations, some of which had board members, or other Riverside elected officials, in common. Most of the non-profit organization donations were listed as “health” or “mental health” purposes, but a deeper look illustrates the far-left extremist tendencies of the organizations.

Alianza

Alianza Coachella Valley received a total of $75,000 from RAP in 2020 and 2021.  Another Coachella Valley Unified School District trustee, Silvia Paz, is the executive director of Alianza, earning $85,362 in 2021. Other donors to Alianza include ACLU of Southern California, Desert Healthcare District and Foundation, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, and the Tides and Weingart foundations.  According to the Riverside County checkbook, the county has also given Alianza over $84,000 directly.

Alianza, previously known as the “building healthy communities” foundation, describes its purpose on their website as:

“Alianza (ah-lee-ann-zah) 1. a union of people and/or organizations working together for a common goal. 2. The only such union based in the Eastern Coachella Valley supporting resident leaders in improving their community. 3. The first local grassroots effort with a solid foundation to bring together a diverse group of partners. 4. The best team at engaging residents to lead efforts for lasting community good. See also: coalition or alliance.”

The extreme left bent of Alianza can be gleaned from their “Our Work” page, which includes Environmental and Community Justice.  In addition, Alianza brags about being part of the Alphabet Mafia, and indoctrinating local school children in leftist concepts such as restorative justice and LBGTQ Pride festivals.

Clinicas De Salud Del Pueblo Inc.

Clinicas De Salud’s purpose, according to their 2021 IRS filing, is to provide a “safety net” for low-income health care.  RAP CEO and elected official, Leticia De Lara, is also a member of the Clinicas’ board.  Clinicas De Salud received a $50,000 grant from RAP in 2020.  Clinica De Salud is also listed as an affiliate of the extreme leftist illegal immigration enablers UnidosUS.

COFEM

Consejo De Federaciones Mexicanas En Norte America (COFEM) is a Los Angeles based non-profit to “promote the advancement of the Latino Community,” according to their 2021 IRS filing.  RAP awarded COFEM with $129,439 in 2020 and 2021. COFEM has an affiliation with UnidosUS dating back to 2006, according to this National Council of La Raza “Stronger Communities” annual report, which can be found on the UnidosUS website. In the report, La Raza/UnidosUS stated that “…NCLR partnered with COFEM and NALEO to hold a U.S. Citizenship Application Assistance workshop, which put hundreds of people on the path toward citizenship.”

COFEM is described by influencewatch.org thusly:

“COFEM (derived from its Spanish-language name, COnsejo de FEderaciones Mexicanas en Norteamerica, meaning Council of Mexican Federations in the United States) is a coalition of organizations from Mexican-American communities aligned for left-of-center advocacy, principally for liberal expansionist immigration policies. The organization is also involved in campaigning for environmentalist policies among Mexican Americans.”

Further evidence of COFEM’s immigration extremism can be found in a 2016 Yucatan Times article that described how Mexico’s government “attempted to influence the U.S. election through its vast consular network north of the border, by helping Mexicans in the U.S. acquire U.S. citizenship so they can vote against Trump.” 

More from the times:

“Governor Aureoles delivered an address to the 11th annual COFEM (Consejo de Federaciones Mexicanas – Council of Mexican Federations in North America) leadership conference in California.

In his address, Governor Aureoles described the Republican candidate (that is, Donald Trump) as a demente (a demented person, lunatic, crazy person).

“I invite you (plural) then, to not vote for someone who suffers from dementia,” the Michoacan governor exhorted his listeners.”

COFEM appears at a rally to protest the US Border Patrol in the Coachella Valley a year later to protest then President Trump’s immigration policies (which the Biden regime now denies ever existed).

Jewish Family Services

JFS, who was mentioned earlier in the Brad Jones article, as a facilitator of the illegal invasion centered in San Diego was given a total of $60,000 (2019 and 2021) of taxpayer money by RAP.

Riverside County Latino Commission 

The Riverside County Latino Commission, which RAP board member and College of the Desert trustee, Bea Gonzalez, also sits on the board of, received a total of $125,000 from RAP in 2021 and 2022.  In addition, the non-profit has received a total of $1.55 million directly from the County.  The Riverside County Latino Commission is also one of the main “community partners” of the Riverside County Office of Education’s push for community schools.  Community schools, as most know, is the State’s attempt to usurp the role of the parent with “whole child” indoctrination.

Summary

The logical questions to ask the Riverside County Board of Supervisors is why do they need to give tens of millions of taxpayer’s monies to a foundation, populated by a bunch of Riverside County politicians, to dole out to such extreme leftist organizations? Do all County Supervisors sit on a foundation like RAP?  Are there conservative versions of the RAP foundation, which give almost exclusively to conservative non-profits?  If so, do they all do as well as RAP in their ability to buy $3 million dollar properties with Riverside County taxpayer’s money?

There were many more organizations, including a few LGBTQIA+++ (or whatever it is called now) not covered in this article.  The multitude of connections to Riverside County politicians, and to UnidosUS/La Raza is simply staggering. Is it merely a coincidence that Supervisor (and RAP board member) Manny Perez founded the La Raza chapter at the University of California, Riverside in the 1990’s?