TO: CVF-NEWS
FROM: Kim Alexander
DATE: October 23, 1998
RE: Top Ten Contributors to CA Props thru 9/30/98

Hi Folks:

To help California voters make informed choices on November 3, the California Voter Foundation is tracking the Top Ten Contributors to California ballot measure campaigns and statewide candidates.

Here is a list of the Top Ten Contributors in support of or in opposition to the 12 California propositions on the November ballot, as of September 30, 1998. This list identifies the contributors who have given the most since the campaign was first organized -- in some cases, this may include records from 1997. The list includes cash contributions, as well as non-monetary contributions and loans, and will also be published in the “Follow the Money” section of CVF’s online voter guide, at http://www.calvoter.org.

New reports disclosing contributions between October 1 - 17 were filed October 22. We are now collecting these reports on computer disk from the Secretary of State’s office, and will update our Top Ten figures again as soon as possible. In the meantime, we will also publish all the contributions disclosed on disk in our 1998 California Campaign Contribution Database, available at http://ca98.election.digital.com. Be sure to check the Secretary of State’s Late Contribution Reports online at their web site, http://www.ss.ca.gov, for contributions received after October 17.

Updated Top Ten Contributor lists for all statewide candidates are also in the works, and will be posted to CVF-NEWS and in our California Online Voter Guide soon. (FYI, the diskette disclosure and electronic filing programs are a great help for tracking the money, but it still takes considerable time and expertise to go through the records and make sure the data we publish is accurate. Your patience is appreciated!)

-- Kim Alexander, President
California Voter Foundation
kimalex@netcom.com