Special election to fund schools is Tuesday
With four days before voters decide whether to pass a parcel tax to benefit local schools, what began as a quiet campaign is gaining momentum.
More than 200 people are expected to meet at Santa Monica High School this morning before canvassing Santa Monica neighborhoods to help turn out voters in support of the measure.
And phone bank volunteers, who have already placed more than 30,000 calls to residents, will work up to the last minute, said Ralph Mechur, co-chair of the committee pushing for the measure.
The proposed parcel tax, called Measure S on the June 3 ballot, would levy a flat $225 fee on the more than 32,000 properties in Santa Monica and Malibu. If it garners two-thirds of the vote, the tax is expected to raise about $6.5 million annually for the cash-strapped school district.
Supporters of the measure kept their campaign relatively quiet at first and focused their efforts on specific groups that were likely to back the tax, Mechur said.
To find supporters, campaign managers purchased voting registries from L.A. County that outlined party affiliation and voting history of area residents.
Because the parcel tax will be decided in a single-issue election, Mechur said the campaign focused first on residents who regularly turn out to vote, second on Democrats who, in general, are more likely to support tax increases and third on parents.
“They’re buying this election. The same people who complained that the hotels bought the last election are out there buying this one.” — — MATT MILLEN Citizens Against Unfair Taxes
Parent lists were compiled by parents and not from school records, which is illegal because the school district is not allowed to throw its weight behind the measure, Mechur said.
Once the groups were identified, mailers were sent out and phone calls and precinct walking began.
The opposition to Measure S has been less active, sending out just one mailer against the proposed tax and producing some lawn signs. The opposition has been outspent by nearly $200,000 by Measure S supporters, according to campaign finance reports.
“They’re buying this election,” said Matt Millen, who heads Citizens Against Unfair Taxes, the group opposing Measure S. “The same people who complained that the hotels bought the last election are out there buying this one.”
Millen said his group is fighting the proposed tax because it unfairly puts a burden on homeowners and it lets big business off the hook for the same flat rate it charges everyone else. He said the city should direct more funds to schools instead of into affordable housing and other projects.
While Millen’s group has pulled in $5,500, Measure S supporters have raised roughly $200,000 and more money is coming in every day, Mechur said.
Of the money raised by Measure S supporters, about $40,000 has gone to Pam Brady, the campaign manager, and Sue Burnside and Barbara Grover, two election consultants working on the campaign.
Nearly $80,000 has been spent on a handful of mailers sent out to more than 20,000 residents and another $50,000 has been spent on compiling lists for can-vassers, Mechur said. The other expenses came from an April poll conducted by the group, office expenses and newspaper advertisements.
Before last November’s election supporters of Measure EE — a more costly parcel tax proposal — raised about $175,000. Measure EE, which did not receive the mandated two-thirds majority of the vote, was not formally opposed by any organization.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 31, 2003. Read the original PDF.