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Committee opposing Measure N has raised about $118K in past month, including donation from developer

There is no official Yes on Measure N campaign and donations in favor of the ballot item have been made to the California Tax Limitation Committee.

There is no official Yes on Measure N campaign and donations in favor of the ballot item have been made to the California Tax Limitation Committee.

(Raul Roa / Staff Photographer)
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The committee campaigning against Measure N — which if approved would repeal the city’s utility users tax, which city officials say is a revenue source for key city services —has raised about $118,000 in the past month through several large donations, including one from developer Rick Caruso.

The No on N team has been distributing mailers, fliers, lawn signs, hiring consultants and even purchased commercials on Armenian television channels, urging residents vote against the ballot measure.

Opponents say they’re worried that eliminating the tax and the $17.5 million it typically generates a year would result in laying off police officers and firefighters, while supporters believe the city has been spendthrift with expenses such as overtime.

The largest contributor to the No on Measure N campaign was the California Assn. of Realtors, which chipped in $60,000 for the cause, while Caruso, whose company Caruso Affiliated built the Americana at Brand, contributed $40,000, according to financial statements.

State law mandates that any donation over $1,000 must be disclosed within 24 hours.

Caruso said voting no and keeping the utility users tax in place would be in the best interest of Glendale.

“[Measure N] will restrain Glendale from moving forward as it continues on its amazing renaissance,” he said in an email.

However, Roland Kedikian, president of the Glendale Coalition for Better Government and one of the most staunch supporters of Measure N, is critical of the corporate donations in the tens of thousands, saying it’s unfair to the residents who can’t spare as much money in the move to repeal the tax.

“The system is shockingly unfair to the average citizen,” he said in a phone interview. “When they talk about income inequality and power inequality, there it is.”

There is no official Yes on Measure N campaign and donations in favor of the ballot item have been made to the California Tax Limitation Committee, a political action committee, which has been paying for expenses such as phone banking and gas mileage, said committee manager Sterling Contreras.

The committee has received $2,509 in local donations, Contreras said. He did not provide financial documents, saying that because he’s working for a political action committee, certain laws don’t require him to disclose them until sometime in June.

Kedikian said his coalition has also received about $5,000 in recent donations. Since the coalition is a 501 c (4), it is permitted by the federal government to campaign for various causes during election cycles.

While the city of Glendale has a cap on contributions made to council candidates, there is no limit on how much can be given to campaigns for ballot measures.

The No on N campaign spent nearly $54,000 on expenditures in the past month and has an ending cash balance of just over $61,000, according to disclosure documents.

Tai Sunnanon, No on N’s campaign manager, said donations have come from a cross section of business leaders in the community as well as residents who’ve contributed as little as $1 and $25.

Regardless of background, people against Measure N want to maintain public-safety levels, police and fire response times and keep libraries open, he said.

“The donations that you see are a response to the entire community coming together to protect what we have,” Sunnanon said.

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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian

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