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A small donation from a Walmart employee has stirred things up in the Eric Garcetti mayoral campaign, so much so that Garcetti has announced he will give the donation back.
While the $100 contribution from Javier Angulo, who works for Walmart as a director of community affairs, came from the individual and not the company, the pro-labor camp's negative reaction has prompted the Garcetti team to opt to wash their hands of the whole thing.
The donation was first reported last week, and in response, Maria Elena Durazo of the county Federation of Labor remarked “Wal-Mart money is Wal-Mart money," according to L.A. Now.
Tuesday, Garcetti campaign spokesman Bill Carrick said they'll just give the money back rather than further the controversy.
Garcetti's top rival for L.A.'s civic leader, City Controller Wendy Grueul, reported receiving $250 from Angulo, but also gave the money back. Both mayoral hopefuls have raised big bucks so far in their campaigns, as reports also revealed Tuesday. From the L.A. Times:
According to records filed with the city's Ethics Commission on Tuesday, the two candidates have each raked in more than $2.2 million since the campaign began, with Garcetti outpacing Greuel by a mere $322.31.