Welfare 2009, LaMalfa style

Former Assemblyman Doug LaMalfa, who’s now running for State Senate, is a bedrock conservative who consistently has voted against new taxes in favor of cutting spending on education and health care to balance the state budget. But when it comes to benefiting from taxpayer largesse, LaMalfa, whose family grows rice in the Richvale area, has done quite well. U.S. Department of Agriculture figures show that, in 2009, the six members of the LaMalfa Family Partnership, including Doug and his wife, Jill, received $161,578 in federal farm subsidies, making them the eighth-largest recipient for Butte County operations (see list). Since 1995, the family has received a whopping $4,596,165.

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Rank Recipient Location Total subsidies 1 Lionel Coffee Hilton, OK $963,813 2 J.W. Bamford Inc. Oroville, CA $554,970 3 Leota Mae Brakhage Boise City, OK $335,120 4 Pacific Farms Richvale, CA $299,393 5 Bob Pharoah Maysville, OK $200,000 6 Tres Picos Redding, CA $176,022 7 Thompson Family Farms Chico, CA $162,217 8 LaMalfa Family Partnership Richvale, CA $161,578

Sources: USDA, Environmental Working Group (www.ewg.org)