Parcel tax narrowly passes but votes remain to be counted
Santa Monica and Malibu voters stood behind their public schools on Tuesday.
But just barely. Measure S, which had to receive two-thirds of the vote to become law, passed with 66.8 percent — or by a little more than one-tenth of one percent — with all 35 precincts in Malibu and Santa Monica reporting Tuesday night.
However, with an unknown amount of last-minute absentee ballots still to be counted in the next two days, the election could ultimately swing in either direction.
Representatives from the L.A. County Department of Registrar-Recorder, which conducted the election, were not available late Tuesday night to say how many ballots remained to be counted.
“I guess we’ll see what happens,” said Mat Millen, who heads Citizens Against Unfair Taxes, the main opposition to the campaign. “I wouldn’t concede this election. It’s too close to call.”
In the meantime, about 30 supporters of the measure celebrated cautiously at Moon-shadows Restaurant in Malibu.
“For the last two hours we’ve just been waiting,” said Ralph Mechur, co-chair of the campaign in favor of Measure S. “We’re ahead but we need the rest of the votes to be counted.”
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is facing a $13.7 million shortfall in funding for next year.
The parcel tax is expected to generate roughly $6.5 million annually for six years by levying a flat $225 flat tax on all the 32,000-plus parcels in Santa Monica and Malibu.
Of the 67,062 registered voters in Santa Monica and Malibu, 16,892 turned out for Tuesday’s election — with 11,278 voting for the measure and 5,614 voting against it.
The race was close from the very beginning, with 66.5 percent of the previously received absentee voters casting “yes” votes and 33.5 voting against the measure. As the night wore on, parties on both sides of the measure watched returns anxiously as the race stayed within one-half of one percentage point.
“We feel proud — win, lose or draw — to have been part of the right thing,” said Dr. Mike Gruning, president-elect of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, which helped round up more than $30,000 in business donations.
“We feel proud — win, lose or draw — to have been part of the right thing.” — — DR. MIKE GRUNING President-elect Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce
Votes for the special election were counted in Norwalk, where the L.A. County Registrar’s offices are. A similar parcel tax school measure passed in Palos Verdes Tuesday with 73 percent of the vote and another parcel tax was defeated in Manhattan Beach after it garnered only 58 percent of the vote. The campaign for Measure S began after the November defeat of Measure EE, which proposed a gradually increasing parcel tax that would have capped at $360 per parcel in 2006.
When Measure EE failed to attract two-thirds of the vote — it received 61.2 percent — school supporters reassessed their approach and returned to voters with Measure S.
They also hired Barbara Grover, an accomplished campaign consultant, to oversee the mailers. And they brought on Sue Burnside, another consultant, to orchestrate field work.
With former school board president Pam Brady manning the campaign office, the Measure S team launched into action, targeting likely “yes” votes and canvassing area neighborhoods. More than 500 people lent their time as volunteers, contacting more than 30,000 residents in person and over the phone, Mechur said.
The strategy, said Mechur, was first to target voters who regularly turn out for elections. Secondly, the campaign targeted Democrats, who generally approve tax increases, and thirdly, they went after parents with children in local schools.
“To get 66 percent of the vote when you have any kind of opposition is very, very difficult,” Grover said. “But when you understand what’s at stake, that should be motivation enough (to vote yes).”
The campaign for Measure S attracted a broader base of support and a “hell of a lot more volunteers” than the campaign for Measure EE, Mechur said.
And more money too. Measure EE pulled in about $175,000 while Measure S attracted more than $200,000 in donations. By contrast, Citizens Against Unfair Taxes raised only about $5,500, just enough for a handful of lawn signs and one mailer.
Measure S backers are still looking to the cities of Santa Monica and Malibu to fork over more than their usual donations of $3 million and $15,000, respectively, next year.
Last year, Santa Monica kicked in an extra $1.5 million at the last minute.
Santa Monica officials are hopeful that they’ll be able to step up to bail out the schools, but caution that they’re grappling with a $16.1 million shortfall of their own.
Malibu officials are expected to hand over more than $100,000, mostly through a shared-use agreement for school facilities.
In the end, Mechur said these are short-term solutions to a more deeply rooted problem. Per-pupil spending in California has fallen way behind the rest of the country since Proposition 13 was passed 25 years ago, permanently setting property taxes for homeowners.
“The long term goal is to correct how school’s are funded in the state of California,” he added. “The state itself either has to change how it spends money or create additional revenue.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 4, 2003. Read the original PDF.