Measure M’s War Chest at $1.8 Million

Major developers and others connected to the building industry in Orange County have contributed the lion’s share of a $1.8-million war chest amassed by backers of Measure M, a proposed half-cent sales tax increase for transportation improvements, according to financial statements filed Friday.

But the hearty outpouring of developer dollars is also sure to provide fodder for the measure’s opponents, who argue that builders want more roads laid down as groundwork for a continued housing boom in Orange County.

Opponents of the measure have collected only about $8,000 and have portrayed the contest as a David-versus-Goliath match-up. But supporters of Measure M insist that their decided money-raising edge--and the fact those funds have come largely from the development and construction community--will not prove a detriment when voters go to the polls Nov. 7.

“People are going to make an individual choice based on the merits of Measure M,” said Alan Hoffenblum, a Los Angeles-based political consultant hired to manage the pro-M campaign. “This is just money to help us communicate. . . . I think the lack of funding on the ‘no’ side shows a lack of support for their position.”

Citizens for Yes on M have raised $1.73 million in cash and nearly another $62,000 in non-monetary contributions through Oct. 21, while spending nearly $1.3 million, according to the campaign disclosure statement. Nearly $960,000 of the cash and “in-kind” contributions were made during the last month alone.

Contributions in excess of $20,000 came from more than two dozen major Orange County developers, financing institutions and consultants. The list is topped by Presley of Southern California, one of the county’s biggest home builders. The Irvine-based firm donated $50,000 in the past month and more than $125,000 overall to the pro-M campaign.

The campaign has received a total of $125,000 from the William Lyon Co., which donated $25,000 since the current reporting period began in the last week of September. Another $25,000 came in earlier this month from the influential Lincoln Club of Orange County, one of the major Republican organizations in the county.

Hoffenblum said the pro-M forces are “not on the defensive” over the source of their operating funds, but rather are spending “all our time communicating the merits” of the sales-tax measure. “What (opponents) should be talking about is Measure M, not who’s contributing to the campaign,” he added.

So far, most of the proponents’ money has been spent on producing and distributing direct-mail campaign literature and manning phone banks, according to the campaign statement. Hoffenblum said the tactics would stay the same for the measure’s supporters through Election Day.

“We’ve got a massive telephone (bank) operation,” Hoffenblum said. “We’re asking people if they support Measure M and, if they do, we’re urging them to get out and vote for it.”

Under the measure, the sales tax in the county would increase from 6% to 6.5% on the dollar, raising a projected $3.1 billion to help pay for a far-reaching, $11.6-billion program to speed traffic.

Freeways would be widened, car-pool lanes added and city streets streamlined. In addition, exclusive bus lanes and commuter rail service would be added, promoters promise. The tax increase is estimated to cost the average county resident about $50 to $75 a year.

In 1984, many of the same donors contributed to a big-bucks campaign in support of a 1-cent sales tax hike for traffic improvements. Though opinion polls indicated it might pass, the measure was defeated by nearly a 3-to-1 margin.

Backers of the measure say this year will be different, in large part because the tax increase is only a half-cent and traffic is worse than in 1984. In an effort to attract broader support from historically tax-wary Orange County voters, the proponents have included provisions in Measure M for a citizens’ committee to oversee spending of the money collected.

The list of contributors on the campaign disclosure statement for the pro-M forces reads like a Who’s Who of powerful local developers, influential consultants and well-established financial institutions.

A-M Homes of Newport Beach; Bramalea California Inc.; Coto De Caza Ltd.; Standard Pacific of Orange County; Taylor Woodrow Homes California, and developer Kathryn G. Thompson have contributed $40,000 each since the last week in September, the disclosure statements show.

Ahmanson Developments Inc.; Baldwin Builders Inc.; Home Capital Corp. of San Diego; the Irvine Co.; J.M. Peters Co. Inc.; Rancho Santa Margarita Joint Venture, and Sammis Co. donated $25,000 each during the reporting period.

Contributions of $20,000 each came from Lincoln Property Co.; BCE Development Inc.; Birtcher Real Estate Inc.; Costain Homes Inc.; Anaheim-based Kaufman & Broad; O’Donnell, Armstrong & Partners Inc. of Irvine; Richmond American of Irvine, and Costa Mesa-based Warmington Homes.

BankAmerica Corp.; Brinderson Real Estate of Irvine; California Communities Inc. of Irvine; Diversified Shopping Centers of Costa Mesa; Hillman Properties West of Newport Beach; Hughes Aircraft Co.; the Leaverton Co. of Anaheim Hills; Pacific Mutual of Newport Beach; Recreations of California Inc.; Signal Landmark and Trammell Crow Associated, both of Irvine, have donated $10,000 each during the past month, the disclosure statement showed.

WHAT MEASURE M WOULD PAY FOR

Measure M, the proposed half-cent sales tax for transportation projects, would raise $3.1 billion over 20 years. Measure M designates which projects would be undertaken with passage, including:

Ten-year-earlier completion of Santa Ana Freeway widening from the San Diego Freeway interchange in Irvine to the San Gabriel River Freeway in Los Angeles County.

Rebuilding the interchange of the Santa Ana and San Diego freeways, known as the El Toro “Y.”

Adding lanes to Interstate 5 in South County, the Riverside Freeway throughout the Orange County, the Orange Freeway from Diamond Bar to the Santa Ana Freeway, and adding lanes to the Costa Mesa Freeway between the Riverside and Santa Ana freeways.

Building a 220-mile network of “super streets,” using Orange County’s 21 busiest streets.

Expanding Los Angeles-to-San Diego rail service, planning commuter train service between Riverside and Irvine and studying additional train service elsewhere.

Coordinating traffic signals throughout the county.

Requiring every city and the county to adopt comprehensive growth management plans to link traffic relief with future development.

Creating a citizens’ oversight committee to monitor agencies’ compliance with the ballot measure.

Most of the added freeway lanes would be reserved for buses and car pools. Freeway projects would total $1.325 billion; street and road improvements would be $650 million; transit projects--including rail--$775 million, and regional projects such as “super streets” and signal coordination would get $350 million. If Measure M passes with more than 50% of the vote, county officials intend to use bonds to finance an early start of many projects.