Opponents of Slow-Growth Initiative Hold Funding Lead : Santa Clarita: They have raised more than 18 times the money that Measure A backers have gathered. About 85% has come from construction-related sources.

Opponents of a Santa Clarita slow-growth initiative have raised nearly $100,000--more than 18 times as much as proponents of the measure--according to campaign finance statements filed this week.

Santa Clarita Citizens for Managed Growth raised $99,366 to defeat Measure A, which would allow only 475 housing units in the city of Santa Clarita annually through 2002. About 85%, or $84,450 of the group’s donations, came from developers and others in construction-related businesses.

In contrast, Citizens for a Responsible Residential Initiative on Growth (CARRING), has collected only $5,387, none of which came from builders.

Although SCCMG organizers said the large bankroll has enabled them to pay for the services of a political consultant and prepare a direct-mail campaign, it is no guarantee that the group will succeed in defeating Measure A on April 14.

Support from developers has traditionally been the kiss of death in Santa Clarita politics. For instance, the resounding defeat in 1989 of a road-tax initiative, known as Measure P, was attributed in part to public distrust of developers, who outspent a citizens group by $84,100.

CARRING members lost no time Friday in predicting contributions from developers would have the same effect in the current election.

“It’s going to be money thrown away,” said Mayor Jill Klajic, the sole supporter of Measure A on the City Council. “The Santa Clarita Valley has a history of rebelling from developers.”

But SCCMG members said the group has a broad base of support, including endorsements from Hamilton C. Smyth, the former superintendent of the William S. Hart Union High School District, and from John Fuller, vice president of CalArts.

“The fact that developers contributed money is not a surprise--they’d like to stay in business like everyone else,” said Renee Ramsey, SCCMG’s spokeswoman.

The group’s biggest contribution came from Newhall Land & Farming Co., the largest developer in the Santa Clarita Valley. Newhall Land donated $20,000 in cash and underwrote office space and a public opinion survey worth $12,000.

Other contributions include $13,000 from Issues Mobilization Political Action Committee, which is affiliated with the California Assn. of Realtors; $10,000 from the Building Industry Assn.; $5,000 each from McCoy Construction Co., American Beauty Investment Co. and Pardee Construction Co.; $4,000 from Warner Bros. Inc., which is seeking to develop a business park and commercial center near the city, just west of the Golden State Freeway, and $3,000 from Warmington Homes.

Magic Mountain, just west of the city, contributed $1,000 to the anti-Measure A group.

The group has spent $77,177 of the $99,366 it has raised, including about $16,955 in campaign literature and postage, and about $15,655 for political consulting services from Wessell Co. of Burbank. Ramsey said the group is considering an ad campaign on a local radio station.

CARRING has spent all but $126 of the $5,387 it has raised. The group used the money for newsletters, newspaper ads and billboards. CARRING President John Drew said Friday the group will rely primarily on volunteers to canvass neighbors and stand at intersections with pro-Measure A signs.

“There’s a real contrast between our campaign, which is grass roots, and theirs, which is capital-intensive,” Drew said. “But historically, slow-growth measures win even though they’re well outspent.”