California Online Voter Guide 2000 - A Project of the California Voter Foundation
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cvf

For Immediate Release  

For More Information, contact:

Wednesday, October 11, 2000  

Kim Alexander or Saskia Mills

   

(916) 325-2120; info@calvoter.org



Updated Top Ten Donors list now online at www.calvoter.org!

California proposition campaigns raise $82.5 million through 9/30/00


Sacramento, CA -- California proposition campaigns raised $82.5 million through September 30 to support and oppose eight measures on the state's November 7th ballot, according to figures released today by the California Voter Foundation (CVF). An updated Top Ten Donors list and summary figures are available on the CVF web site at:

www.calvoter.org/2000/general/propositions/topten.html

The nonprofit group analyzed proposition fundraising and spending for all eight measures and found that the most expensive campaign so far is Prop 38, the school voucher initiative, with committees raising a combined total of $39.7 million, comprising nearly half of the money raised to date for all of the measures. Prop 39, which would lower the vote requirement needed to pass local school bonds from two thirds to 55 percent, ranked as the second most expensive measure with a total of $21.8 million raised. Prop 35, which would allow state agencies to contract with private firms on public works projects, was the third most expensive measure at $14.5 million.

Timothy Draper, proponent of Prop 38, is the biggest single donor to a proposition campaign in California history, and has contributed $18 million so far to Prop 38 through his Timothy Draper Living Trust. On the other side of Prop 38, the California Teachers Association has contributed a nearly equal amount - $17.9 million - to defeat the measure. Other top donors to proposition campaigns include John Doerr, a venture capitalist with Kleiner Perkins, and his wife Ann, who have contributed a total of $6 million to the Yes on 39 campaign; the Professional Engineers in California Government, which has contributed $4.3 million to the No on Prop 35 campaign; and George Soros, Peter Lewis and John Sperling, who have each contributed $1 million to the Yes on Prop 36 campaign.

"Wealthy individuals, corporations and well-funded interest groups comprise most of the money behind the eight measures on November's ballot," said Kim Alexander, CVF's president and founder. "Yet all these millions of dollars being raised and spent in no way guarantee an informed debate. In fact, most of this money will be spent on TV advertising designed to confuse or scare voters and do just about anything but inform them. Fortunately, voters have an alternative, reliable source of information about the propositions at www.calvoter.org."

CVF's web site features an itemized list of the Top Ten donors for and against each measure on the ballot as well as summary fundraising and spending figures. "Our Top Ten Donors list is a great shortcut that helps busy voters find out who's really behind these measures and make more informed decisions," said Saskia Mills, CVF's managing director. Mills, who has been researching and compiling CVF's Top Ten Donors list since the 1998 election, noted that CVF's current list is being produced and updated faster than ever before. "Thanks to the new California Online Disclosure Act, we were able to update our Top Ten Donors list just five days after the October 5 filing deadline," Mills said, referring to the new California law requiring electronic filing and Internet disclosure of California campaign finance reports.

The California Voter Foundation will frequently update its campaign finance figures throughout the election season as new reports are disclosed. CVF's research is based on disclosure reports filed by proposition campaign committees, and includes all funds raised to support or oppose each measure, including costs to qualify the measure for the ballot, through September 30, 2000.

CVF's Top Ten Donors list is part of the Fall 2000 California Online Voter Guide, a nonpartisan clearinghouse of links and information about the upcoming election. Now in its seventh edition, this noncommercial guide covers 162 state and federal contests in California, including the eight statewide propositions, the presidential election, California's U.S. Senate race, 52 U.S. House contests, and 100 state legislative races. Highlights include contact information for proposition campaigns and all 525 federal and state candidates on California's ballot and links to over 250 official California campaign web sites.

CVF's Top Ten Donors list is made possible by a generous grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Additional support for CVF's 2000 Election projects has been provided by the The James Irvine Foundation, the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the Wallace Alexander Gerbode Foundation and the Markle Foundation. The California Voter Foundation is a nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization funded by tax-exempt contributions from foundations, businesses and individuals. For more information, visit www.calvoter.org.

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star image This page first published October 11, 2000 -- last updated October 11, 2000 star image