Spending on Props. May Set a Record
SACRAMENTO — Indian tribes with casinos, big businesses and parents of sick children have spent more than $125 million to persuade Californians to vote their way Nov. 2 on a raft of ballot measures.
With four weeks to go and many hot issues on the ballot, spending on propositions may hit a record.
The enormous spending also reflects a ballot full of issues in which big money is at stake -- expansion of Indian gambling and card rooms, required health insurance for more businesses, higher taxes and fees to pay for mental health services and emergency rooms, and a $3-billion bond issue to support stem-cell research.
"It's a huge amount of money," said Darry Sragow, a Democratic political consultant. "That number is consistent with what it costs to run a campaign in California."
"In Los Angeles right now," he said, "you could easily dump somewhere between half a million and a million dollars a week on television."
The more than $125 million spent so far is not as much as utilities, cigarette companies, Indian tribes and Nevada casino interests spent on propositions on the November 1998 ballot. Those groups spent at least $150 million. But there is a month to go before election day.
Financial reports filed by Tuesday show the magnitude of spending this year and why voters are being swamped with mailers and televisions ads.
By far the biggest sums have been spent on three gambling measures, with card rooms pitted against Indian casinos and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger fighting all of them.
That spending may slow promptly. On Wednesday the backers of one of the gambling measures, Proposition 68, announced that they would stop spending money to promote it.
More than $20 million has also been spent on the campaign for an initiative to invest state money in stem-cell research, which promoters hope will lead to cures for Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and other diseases.
Much of this year's money will be spent on contradictory messages, as six of the 16 propositions are competing measures that may confuse and frustrate voters. Statewide, dueling gambling propositions have dominated the airwaves, as various interests spent more than $10 million a week on radio and television advertising.
Card rooms and racetracks reported having spent $27.7 million on Proposition 68 since the campaign began last year. Though promoters have pulled the plug, the measure will still appear on the ballot.
