As Free and Equal continues its work to defeat California’s Proposition 14, the controversial June ballot measure also known as the “Top Two Primaries Act,” we regularly monitor news, advertisements, endorsements, and contributions made from both the opposing and supporting sides.
The California Secretary of State website contains a Campaign Finance area that posts contributions made in support of the ballot measure. We have mentioned in previous communication several large contributions from big corporations, political action committees, and individual donors. This week, we decided to take a closer look at the list of contributors, crunch some numbers, and point out some interesting facts we discovered.
First, we noticed the name of the supporting committee was changed from a simple “Yes on 14 – Californians for an Open Primary” to “Yes on 14 – Californians for an Open Primary with Major Funding from Governor Schwarzenegger’s California Dream Team, a Ballot Measure Committee.”
The same Governor Schwarzenegger with a 23% approval rating according to a Field Poll published by the LA Times PolitiCal blog.
The same Governor Schwarzenegger who tried and failed to appoint the author of Proposition 14, Senator Abel Maldonado, as Lieutenant Governor.
And the same Governor Schwarzenegger who tried and failed to persuade Californians to pass Top Two in 2004.
We must admit, the Governor is determined. His ballot measure committee contributed a stunning half million dollars to support Proposition 14 last month. And now the official name of the supporting committee carries his name.
Here is a breakdown of monetary contributions as of April 13, grouped by type of funding source:
Political Action Committees and other Groups
| Amount | Contributor |
| $500,000 | Governor Schwarzenegger’s California Dream Team, a Ballot Measure Committee |
| $250,000 | California Hospitals Committee on Issues, sponsored by California Association of Hospitals and Health Systems |
| $205,000 | California Business PAC, sponsored by the California Chamber of Commerce |
| $100,000 | California Association of Health Underwriters PAC |
| $10,000 | POPA Inc. Special Issues Committee (Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association) |
| $10,000 | California American Council of Engineering Companies Issues Fund |
| $5,000 | Enterprise Holdings, Inc. Political Action Committee |
| $1,000 | Silicon Valley Bank PAC (Federal) |
| $1,081,000 | Total |
Corporations
| Amount | Contributor |
| $100,000 | Hewlett-Packard Company |
| $50,000 | Blue Shield of California |
| $25,000 | Pacific Life Insurance Company |
| $20,000 | BNSF Railway Company |
| $20,000 | Sunpower Corporation |
| $15,000 | Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. |
| $10,000 | Webcor Construction LP |
| $10,000 | Varian Medical Systems |
| $10,000 | Tessera, Inc. |
| $10,000 | Granite Construction Inc. |
| $10,000 | David D. Bohannon Organization |
| $10,000 | T-Bird Restaurant Group, Inc. |
| $10,000 | Securitas Security Services USA, Inc. |
| $5,000 | Silicon Valley Bank |
| $5,000 | Shea Homes and Affiliated Entities |
| $5,000 | National Semiconductor Corporation |
| $315,000 | Total |
Individual Contributors
| Amount | Contributor |
| $257,328.40 | Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, Inc. |
| $100,000 | William E. Bloomfield, Jr., retired |
| $100,000 | Eli Broad, founder of The Broad Foundations |
| $100,000 | Brian L. Harvey, president of Cypress Land Company |
| $50,000 | William Oberndorf, investment banker at SPO Partners & Co. |
| $40,000 | Rick J. Caruso, CEO of Caruso Affiliated Holdings |
| $25,000 | Andrew Verhalen, Venture Investor, Matrix Partners |
| $24,890.80 | Roger McNamee, Partner, Elevation Partners |
| $10,000 | William Hume, Chairman, Basic American, Inc. |
| $10,000 | Steven W. Berglund, CEO, Trimble Navigation |
| $10,000 | Rebecca Q. Morgan, retired |
| $10,000 | L.W. Lane Jr., retired |
| $10,000 | Denise Watkins, retired |
| $10,000 | Charles B. Johnson, Chairman, Franklin Resources |
| $10,000 | Aart de Geus, CEO, Synopsys, Inc. |
| $7,000 | Steven Miles, retired |
| $5,000 | Tench Coxe, Managing Director, Sutter Hill Ventures |
| $5,000 | Steven Westly, Managing Partner, The Westly Group |
| $5,000 | Lewis N. Wolff, Owner and CEO, Wolff Urban Management |
| $5,000 | Kim Polese, CEO, Spikesource, Inc. |
| $5,000 | John W. Thompson, Chairman, President, and CEO, Symantec Corporation |
| $5,000 | John Fisher, President, Pisces, Inc. |
| $1,000 | Paul Vogel, retired |
| $1,000 | Kenneth Wilcox, President/CEO, Silicon Valley Bank |
| $806,219.20 | Total |
As of April 13, the total contributions made public in support of Proposition 14 is $2,202,219.20, plus an additional $477,000 since Governor Schwarzenegger’s Dream Team stepped up the support with their contribution.
With the June election less than two months away, time is running out. There are several ways you can help! Become a Stop Top Two Facebook fan, suggest the Facebook page to your friends, download our new Stop Top Two flyer to distribute at events, forward this email to friends and family, and make a donation at the Stop Top Two website. Together, we can stop this measure and protect voter choice.
Protect Your Choice!
Christina Tobin
Founder, Chair
The Free & Equal Elections Foundation
reprinted with permission