> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Measure R supporters launch final get-out-the-vote push before Super Tuesday - URL: https://www.smdp.com/the-final-push/ - Published: 2008-02-04T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T23:11:20.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Government & Politics, Mid-City, #archive-import *Measure R backers beat the streets to drum up support* MID-CITY A sense of chaos touched down on the pro-Measure R campaign on Saturday, its normally quiet headquarters filled with the noisy chatter from a room jam packed with volunteers, some pouring over campaign materials, some catching up with friends as they await their assignments, others discussing which neighborhoods to cover, but all there to galvanize into action. In the final weekend before the Super Tuesday Presidential Primary in which Santa Monica and Malibu residents will be asked to vote on Measure R, a renewal of more than $10 million in parcel tax revenues to fund the area’s public schools, the Campaign to Protect Quality Public Schools was busy organizing its get out to vote (GOTV) efforts, sending out volunteers to more than 14,000 households. Considering the intensified level of campaigning expected today and on Tuesday, the activities of the weekend represent the quiet before the storm. “The key to our success is to make sure all individuals who we expect to vote yes actually go vote,” Shari Davis, the campaign chairman, said. “We’re down to the basic politics of campaigning.” Campaign organizers estimated that more than 100 volunteers — ranging from teachers, union members with both SEIU and the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association (SMMCTA), parents and children — took part in the get out the vote efforts during the past weekend. The efforts on Saturday and Sunday were focused on leaving more than 14,000 door hangers dangling at the residences of voters that have committed to supporting Measure R, verbal commitments that were received during the weeks of phone banking that took place prior to the weekend. The volunteers started early on Saturday morning, grabbing their stack of door hangers with a coffee and bagel in the other hand. On one wall of the SMMCTA office was a banner that read: “Thank you for making this school year possible by passing Measure S,” a symbol of success in previous parcel tax campaigns. “There is a stronger sense of urgency than ever (before),” said Jenny Lipson, a second grade teacher at Grant Elementary School who has taught in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District for 15 years. “We’re accustomed to a certain level of resources for the schools and I would hate to lose them.” Measure R would replace the existing Measure S and Y parcel taxes, both of which brought in a combined total of $10.4 million for the 2007-08 school year. Measure S, which charges property owners a flat assessment of $225 per parcel, is set to expire in 2009, while Measure Y, which charges roughly $121 per parcel but has an annual Consumer Price Index increase, is set to expire in 2011\. The consolidated Measure R would supersede the existence of the two parcel taxes, but would not have an expiration date, bringing in revenue to the district in perpetuity, an issue raised by the anti- Measure R contingent. Mathew Millen, an attorney who lives in Santa Monica, runs Votenor.com, is opposed to the parcel tax because he believes the pro- Measure R campaign has been deceptive in telling voters that there would be no tax increase with the proposed measure. Millen has raised roughly $1,000, which has helped pay for a mailer that he sent out about two weeks ago. He said he didn’t plan to make any calls or knock on doors of voters this past weekend, hoping that voters would carefully study the campaign materials provided with their sample ballot. “From talking to people, I find a lot of people are upset that the proponents claim this is not a tax increase, and when (voters) discovered this tax goes on in perpetuity and goes up every year with inflation, they’re upset the proponents are saying this is not a tax increase, because it obviously is.” In order for the measure to pass — which proponents say will save teaching positions and keep the arts alive in the schools — it will need to receive a two-thirds vote in both municipalities, which is all the more reason why the get out the vote effort is so important, Davis said. Jane Bordal, a PTA board member at John Muir Elementary School, and her friend, Rob Fresco, whose two children attend John Muir, took part in GOTV on Saturday, together covering residences in Downtown Santa Monica on Saturday morning, an area of mostly condominium and apartment complexes situated amongst businesses. For Fresco, it was the second day helping the Measure R campaign, having worked in the phone bank earlier during the week, an experience that he said went better than expected. “I was expecting more hang-ups,” he said. Fresco said he is volunteering because he knows what’s at stake, hearing from his children about the various arts and science programs that they enjoy. “Having a good school is the best investment people can make in the community,” he said. The two friends at times split up to cover more ground quickly, Fresco focusing his efforts on the east side of Seventh Street while Bordal covered the west. Bordal is a mother of a student at both John Muir and John Adams Middle School. A believer in public schools, Bordal said she looked at various schools before deciding on Santa Monica-Malibu. “It’s good for the kid to be rooted in the community,” she said. Handling GOTV in the downtown area presented its challenges, mainly because almost all of the condominiums and apartments are gated. The volunteers would at times get lucky and be able to walk into a complex whose gate was not locked. For Bordal, participating in a campaign has given her a better sense of how the district operates. “It’s exciting for me to get a handle on the finances of the school,” Bordal said as she placed a hanger on a door of an apartment unit on Seventh Street. The door swung open and a man with a confused look on his face asked the volunteer what she was doing, to which she promptly responded that she was reminding him to vote. “I hope you vote on Tuesday,” Bordal said as she walked to the next unit. “Of course,” the voter responded. As Bordal walked out of the apartment, she was reunited with Fresco, who said he was only able to get into one apartment because the others were secured. Fresco spoke about how important the final weekend was to the election, believing that every vote makes a difference. “A little effort will make a huge difference if one of these doors we’re knocking on results in the voter showing up at the poll,” Fresco said. “We’re reminding them they could make a difference.” ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/020408-01_01.jpg) REACHING OUT TO VOTERS: (Top left) Pro-Measure R door hangers sit on a table at the main headquarters of the Measure R campaign on Saturday afternoon. (Photo: Photos by Melody Hanatani) ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/020408-01_02.jpg) REACHING OUT TO VOTERS: (Top left) Pro-Measure R door hangers sit on a table at the main headquarters of the Measure R campaign on Saturday afternoon. (Photo: Photos by Melody Hanatani) *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 4, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/020408.pdf?ref=smdp.com)