Updated at 9:15 a.m. June 19, 2015
Just as President Obama wraps up a fundraising trip to the Southland, presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is scheduled to conduct three $2,700-per-person fundraisers on Los Angeles’ Westside Friday to benefit her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.
The series of Clinton fundraisers will begin with a 12:30 p.m. luncheon at the Beverly Hills home of Westfield Corp. co-CEO Peter Lowy and his wife Janine.
Organizers said “a couple dozen people” plan to conduct a protest outside the home over Clinton’s refusal to definitively oppose the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Opponents of the trade agreement say it will serve to export millions of high-paying jobs to low-wage countries, reduce wages for 90 percent of American workers, lower food safety and environmental standards, and increase human rights abuses.
The Obama administration says the partnership will boost economic growth by increasing American exports, support the creation and retention of American jobs, and promote innovation. Obama himself spent almost 24 hours in the Southland Thursday and Friday, raising funds and appearing on a comedian’s podcast. The president irritated some drivers as his motorcade from place to place during the visit required some roadways to be closed to traffic for a time, resulting in numerous traffic jams.
Clinton, a former U.S. senator from New York, former Secretary of State and former first lady, in an interview Thursday with Nevada radio host Jon Ralston was asked about her position on the controversial proposed trade agreement. “I was willing to wait until I could see what’s in it before I took a decision, like when I was a senator,” she said.
The Clinton Southland luncheon was to be followed by a 5 p.m. event at the home of HBO executive Michael Lombardo and husband Sonny Ward; and a 7 p.m. event at the home of actor Tobey Maguire and his wife Jennifer Meyer. The ticket price is the maximum individual contribution for a candidate seeking his or her party’s presidential nomination.
The 67-year-old Clinton, who is seeking to be the nation’s first female president, also conducted a fundraiser Thursday at the Balboa Bay Club in Newport Beach, with tickets priced from $1,000 to $2,700.
Clinton’s stump speech, which she is expected to deliver at the fundraisers, discusses her commitment “to being a champion for everyday Americans” and outlines “the four fights that are the focus of her campaign — building the economy of tomorrow, not yesterday; strengthening families and communities; fixing our dysfunctional political system; protecting our country from threats,” an aide said.
The visit to the Southland is Clinton’s second since declaring her candidacy on April 12. She also conducted three fundraisers on the Westside on May 7.
—City News Service