Measure H Takes Fund-Raising Lead

Supporters of the Nov. 7 ballot initiative Measure H, which would require the county to spend 80% of its tobacco settlement money on health care, have raised $638,000, according to campaign disclosure statements filed Thursday with the county registrar of voters.

That amount dwarfed the $2,000 that backers of competing Measure G said they raised. County Treasurer-Tax Collector John M.W. Moorlach, the prime backer of Measure G, missed the deadline for filing forms with the registrar but said the paperwork would be filed today.

The county expects to receive about $30 million annually for 25 years under the tobacco settlement, with annual allotments after 2025 to be determined later. A majority of board members had indicated they wanted to use the money to build jails and reduce the county’s debt.

But the strong fund-raising effort by the Citizens for a Healthy Orange County--Yes on H, a coalition of doctors, hospitals and clinics, shows their determination to win a pivotal battle on how the tobacco settlement money will be spent, said Michele Revelle, executive director of the Orange County Medical Assn.

The donations came largely from hospitals based in the county. Tenet Healthcare Corp., which owns seven area hospitals, has given $110,000.

“I don’t think that the health care community has ever come together so cohesively with such an effort,” Revelle said. “And, if you take a look at our list of endorsements, where else are you going to [get] people like [U.S. Reps.] Loretta Sanchez and Dana Rohrabacher to agree on the same issue?”

Indeed, Measure H is backed by a majority of the county’s elected representatives in Sacramento and Washington.

Moorlach said he drafted Measure G to give voters an alternative. Measure G would use 40% of the money to pay down the county’s bankruptcy debt, 42% for health care and 18% for jails.

Deadline Missed

Measure H would require the county to spend the bulk of the settlement on health care and anti-tobacco programs, with the remaining 20% for law enforcement.

Moorlach, who brought attention to the county’s financial problems before the 1994 bankruptcy, missed Thursday’s deadline for filing the financial disclosure statement. He said he had permission from the registrar’s office to do so Friday.

Moorlach attributed the missed deadline to a last-minute bill that needed to be included in the statement and to a courier service that failed to drop off the statement at his residence on time.

Moorlach said he raised $2,000, including $1,000 from his own pocket, from July 1 through Sept. 30, the period covered by the filing. He had spent $15,000, mostly on a countywide mailer.

Moorlach is not receiving any special treatment by the county registrar’s office, said Suzanne Slupsky, a spokeswoman for the office. The registrar’s policy is to give campaign filers a courtesy call, wait until Tuesday and then send out a written notice.

Moorlach’s statement “is considered late. However, we do not fine anybody unless we send out written notice and they still have not filed their statements,” Slupsky said.

The Measure H campaign had raised $449,521 during the previous reporting period and an additional $106,359 through Sept. 30. The campaign reported $382,580 in expenses, primarily for public relations strategists, and legal research and surveys both in Orange County and Sacramento.