Measure A supporters raise $180,000 more Opponents of initiative expected to spend more

By JIM JOHNSON
Herald Salinas Bureau

Monterey County Herald
Posted on April 27, 2007

General plan initiative backers raised nearly $180,000 since Jan. 1 for their campaign, mostly from individuals, according to a campaign contribution
disclosure report submitted to the county elections department Thursday. Also using money raised before this year, the Community General Plan Committee has spent about $280,000 during the Jan.1-April 21 filing period as the campaign prepared for the June 5 election.

And the committee's total was expected to fall far short of the amount raised by Plan for the People, which backs the supervisor-approved general plan and
opposes the general plan initiative.

Four measures are slated for the June 5 ballot, including three general plan questions. Contrary to previous reports, the election will include a full
slate of polling places, though voters also can request an absentee ballot and vote by mail.

The Community General Plan Committee, sponsors of the more restrictive land-use policies contained in Measure A, submitted its report just before 5 p.m. Thursday, the deadline to file campaign disclosure statements for the Jan. 1 through April 21 period. The statements needed to be filed with the county elections office or postmarked by Thursday.

The Plan for the People campaign, which opposes Measure A and supports a county-backed general plan, submitted its campaign disclosure statement by mail and would not provide copies to the public Thursday, said campaign spokesman Andre Charles.

Elections official Susan Orman

said the Plan for the People report should be available this morning if it was mailed on time. Charles promised the campaign would issue a detailed
analysis of the report today. The Community General Plan Committee's top
contributors included Howard Classen ($20,000), Marjorie Kay ($20,000), Julia Foster ($15,000), Eddie Mitchell (nearly $12,000), Brigitte Wasserman
($10,000) and the Carmel Valley Association ($3,000). The totals included nonmonetary contributions. Several family trusts also contributed to the campaign.

The campaign's spending this year includes more than $170,000 on petition circulation and campaign consultant services.

While its full report for the reporting period was not available for review Thursday, some of Plan for the People's top contributors were required to file
disclosure statements immediately after their donations.

As of Thursday, those contributions totaled more than $340,000, including $150,000 from the Los Angeles-based California Association of Realtors. Most
of the rest of the contributions, all $1,000 or more, were from agricultural interests, such as Mann Packing Inc., San Bernabe Vineyards, D'Arrigo Bros. and Ventana Vineyards. Planning Commissioner Jay Brown was the top contributor, at $30,000.

Cheryl McKenzie of the California Association of Realtors said the organization's contribution represented voluntary donations from its membership. She said the "majority" of the contributions were
locally based, but added that the organization sent out a statewide request to its membership for donations.

McKenzie said the organization's members see the general plan initiative "as a threat to private property rights."

LandWatch Executive Director Chris Fitz called the Realtors association a "behemoth organization" that has contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to pro-growth causes across the state, including Santa Clara County.

"The No on Measure A campaign is developer interests masquerading as locals," Fitz said.

At a news conference Thursday, Plan for the People campaigners decried general plan initiative supporters' attack on a range of contributors to county supervisors' campaigns. Nancy Isakson, a county planning commissioner who represents the Growers-Shippers Association, said the supporters' description of the contributors as "developer interests" was "Orwellian."

Isakson said "developer interests" were actually "anyone who opposes LandWatch" and represented "almost the entire foundation of our economy."

Tom Carvey, executive director of Common Ground Monterey County, accused general plan initiative backers of attempting to "dehumanize" their opponents and mislead voters.

General plan initiative supporters issued a report earlier in the week that they said showed the influence of "developer interests" on the supervisors'
land-use decisions. The report showed that more than two-thirds of all supervisor campaign contributions came from a variety of contributors they defined as "developer interests," including groups and individuals tied to real estate, agriculture, construction, land-use planning, banking and tourism.

Jim Johnson can be reached at 753-6753 or jjohnson@montereyherald.com.