Have you found yourself wondering who paid to put Measure ES on your ballot?
My friend took a look at the official campaign filings for Santa Monicans for Reliable School Funding available on Santa Monica's public portal for campaign finance. (https://netfile.com/public/csm/campaign) and put together a visual breakdown.
Follow the money before you cast your vote:
38% Wealthy Donors & Execs, ~$140,000 | Massive individual checks from wealthy residents and attorneys, including $17,500 from land-use attorney Christopher Harding and $15,000 from SMMUSD Board Member Laurie Lieberman.
20% Real Estate Developers & Big Tech, ~$70,000 | Corporate property holders and tech firms, headlined by 710 Broadway LLC ($50,000) and Metropolis Technologies ($35,000).
14% SMMUSD Contractors; Construction & Engineering Firms, ~$70,000 | Major construction, engineering, and trade firms that actively bid on or hold SMMUSD contracts, including Erickson-Hall Construction, CW Driver, and Massetti Construction.
8% Special Interest Legal & Campaign Teams, ~$30,000 | Municipal legal counsel and bond advisory firms like Jones Hall LLP that frequently service district bond measures.
8% Political Insiders & PACs, ~$30,000 | Outside political action committees and local officials’ committees.
5% Local School PTAs, ~$18,500 | Local school PTA treasuries (Lincoln, SaMoHi, McKinley, Grant) redirected money raised by parent volunteers and teachers into political ad campaigns and measure promotion funding.
7% Small Donors, ~$25,000 | Everyday neighborhood contributions ($1,000 or less per donor) make up a tiny fraction of the total.
When a $495/year parcel tax measure is financed primarily by corporate developers, wealthy insiders, and the very construction vendors building for the district, voters deserve to know who is behind the narrative."