Santa Ana : Measure C Supporters Outspent by Foes, 6-1

Final campaign reports from the June election showed that opponents of a proposition to alter the city’s form of government outspent supporters by more than a 6-to-1 margin.

Two political action committees spent cash on both sides of the issue, with the Santa Ana Chamber of Commerce taking a lead role in the opposition. A coalition of citizens’ groups, the Santa Ana Merged Society of Neighbors, put together the proposition, which called for ward elections and a directly elected mayor.

The proposition, Measure C, lost by only 257 votes, and coalition members have gathered enough signatures to qualify for a second vote on the issue in November.

Financial statements filed by the coalition and another committee, the Santa Ana Charter Committee, showed that they raised $12,727 and spent $12,214 on the June 3 election. Lists of contributions included $3,150 from the Santa Ana Firemen’s Legislative Action Group, $600 from SAMSON spokesman Jim Lowman and $500 from Marjorie Fluor.

Some of their major expenses included $1,587.52 to the Camelot Restaurant for a fund-raiser at which Rep. Robert Dornan (R-Garden Grove) was the featured speaker and $823.74 to the registrar of voters for lists of registered voters and a recount that failed to yield any significant change in the outcome.

By contrast, the two opponent groups, the Santa Ana Good Government Committee and the Santa Ana Chamber Political Action Committee, raised $75,541 and spent $74,815. The contributions came mostly from businesses, including $2,500 from the law firm of Pircher, Nicholls and Meeks; $2,000 from a Los Angeles organization, Issues Mobilization Political Action Committee; $1,500 from Waste Management of Sun Valley, and $1,000 each from the Irvine Co., First Interstate Bank, Dunn Properties and Fireplace Manufacturers.

Among their expenses was a $24,406 bill from Spectrum Resources/Englander Campaigns, the Newport Beach political consulting firm run by Harvey Englander. The firm put out last-minute mailers that included photos of the late Chicago Mayor Richard Dailey and statements that the proposition would bring corruption to Santa Ana and turn the city into a slum.

SAMSON members characterized the mailer as racist because they said it was calculated to play on white residents’ fears that ward elections would give minorities a better shot at council seats. Opponents of the proposition said it merely reflected the issues at hand and never mentioned races.