Brian Pendleton, a local gay philanthropist who perhaps is best known as the man behind last month’s Resist March, apparently is considering a run for California State Treasurer.
Chad Goldman, Pendleton’s friend and former partner, has reached out to people asking if they would be willing to fund Pendleton’s election campaign. Several of those people have informed WEHOville of Goldman’s request, however, they have asked that they not be identified so as not to offend Goldman. Neither Pendleton nor Goldman has responded to several requests from WEHOville for comment.
The seat Pendleton would be seeking currently is occupied by John Chiang, who has announced he will run for governor. The election is Nov. 6, 2018, and two other candidates already have announced that they are running for the Democratic nomination for the position, which almost certainly means they will win the general election because of the state’s heavily Democratic population. They are Mike Gatto, a state assembly member who represents the 43rd Assembly District and Fiona Ma, chairwoman of the state Board of Equalization. Gatto’s district includes Burbank, Glendale, La Crescenta, La Canada Flintridge, and the Los Angeles communities of Atwater Village, Franklin Hills, Los Feliz, Silver Lake, the Hollywood Hills, and half of Hollywood.
The State of California’s website says the state treasurer “represents all Californians and functions as the state’s lead asset manager, banker, and financier and also serves as chairperson or a member of numerous state authorities, boards, and commissions. The State Treasurer’s Office has broad constitutional and statutory responsibilities and authority in the areas of state government’s investment and finance.”
Pendleton currently sits on the Los Angeles City Police and Fire Pension Board and has served on the WeHo Transportation Commission. He has served as chairman of the Trevor Project and on the board of directors of the Human Rights Campaign. Pendleton is known as a philanthropist. In the Philippines, he and Goldman funded two “Pendleton-Goldman Learning Centers” there are serving impoverished local communities. The Pendleton-Goldman PrEP clinic provides HIV education and prevention in South Los Angeles. Pendleton served on the board of Christopher Street West, organizer of the annual L.A. Pride festival and parade, but resigned shortly after the Resist March.
Pendleton was the founder and a board member of CauseForce, an organization that helps non-profits raise money for their causes. He sold the company in 2013.
Pendleton posted his concept for the Resist March on a Facebook page last Spring and immediately got tens of thousands of “likes.” That inspired him to organize what he billed as an effort by all groups, including women, immigrants and LGBT people, to demonstrate their demand for equal rights. The June 11 march drew crowds estimated by law enforcement to be between 25,000 and 35,000 people and replaced the annual L.A. Pride parade. It attracted major political figures including Nancy Pelosi, leader of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Democratic Caucus, and fellow U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters along with U.S. Rep.Adam Schiff, who represents both Hollywood and West Hollywood.
