By Emilie St. John
Contributing Writer
COMPTON — Iconic rapper Dr. Dre has made some noise after it was revealed he made a $90,000 campaign contribution to a member of the City Council.
A Compton native born Andre Young, Dre contributed to the Spicer for Mayor 2026 campaign in March 2023.
Compton City Councilman Andre Spicer represents the 2nd District and has opened a campaign committee for a potential run for mayor in 2026.
The campaign committee is under scrutiny due to curious expenditures detailed on the forms which indicate he may have violated campaign finance laws when he paid himself as a consultant and for expenses related to photography and fundraising.
The Spicer for Mayor 2026 campaign reported receiving a $90,000 campaign contribution from Dr. Dre (Andre Young) in March 2023 for the January 1, 2023 through June 30, 2023 reporting period.
The only other contribution was $300 from the Spicer for City Council 2021 campaign account.
The Compton City Clerk’s office date stamped receiving the forms in August 2023 but didn’t publish them to the city’s website until the first week of 2024, after multiple public records requests were submitted to the office asking for the forms.
The office initially indicated there were “no responsive records” when the documents were requested.
According to the campaign’s financial disclosures, Spicer reported $6,000 in non-monetary contributions, listed as expenditures, payable to him for consulting, photography and fundraising costs.
According to the state Fair Political Practices Commission, which enforces campaign finance laws and annual statements of economic interests (Form 700s), candidates are not allowed to pay themselves.
Jay Wierenga, communications director for the FPPC, provided links to the FPPC Campaign Manual, Chapter 6.12, which addresses what is and isn’t allowed in terms of the use of campaign funds.
According to the manual, neither the candidate or officeholder, or any individual authorized to approve the committee’s expenditures, may receive a salary or other compensation from the committee for the performance of political, legislative or governmental activities. However, the committee may pay for professional services such as an accountant or treasurer, even if the accountant or treasurer has the authority to sign committee checks.
The campaign committee’s treasurer is identified as Political Reporting Plus. The firm is co-owned by Michelle Moore Sanders and Cine Ivery and is paid $500 per month for accounting services.
Spicer is listed as the committee’s treasurer for Spicer for Mayor 2026. However, Ivery signed the documents on his behalf.
Ivery is listed as receiving a $5,000 payment from the campaign for consulting services.
Former Compton Councilman Isaac Galvan, who Spicer replaced on the council in 2022, was fined $240,000 by the FPPC for misuse of his campaign funds between 2013 and 2017.
The FPPC documented multiple violations of the state Government Code, including using campaign funds for personal purposes, when assessing the fine to Galvan
Galvan was elected to the Compton City Council in June 2013 and was re-elected in April 2017. In 2021, he was re-elected again, and he remained in office until May 2022 when his 2021 re-election was invalidated.
Spicer declined multiple requests for comment.
Emilie St. John is a freelance journalist covering the areas of Carson, Compton, Inglewood and Willowbrook. Send tips to her at emiliesaintjohn@gmail.com.
