A committee in support of the 1 percent sales tax to pay for roads initially reported it raised $123,650 through Sept. 22, but that was due to a computer glitch and was the wrong amount, a campaign supporter told San Benito Live.
Wayne Norton with the committee supporting Measure G on the November ballot said the $123,650 amount included donations from a prior measure in support of a roads tax and shouldn’t have been the number used. Rather, he said the committee had raised $51,800 for the 2018 measure.
The “Repair our Roads and Reduce Traffic, Yes on G 2018” committee initially reported it raised that staggering amount and spent $70,362 through Sunday, the end of the latest filing period. Committees were required to submit campaign finance documents Thursday for the period of July through Sept. 22.
The pro-Measure G committee also had $53,288 listed as a cash balance in the documents, according to campaign finance documents.
The proposed 1 percent sales tax would raise $485 million for transportation projects over the next 30 years, according to a staff report. The measure would need two-third support to gain approval. This tax push comes more than two years after voters rejected Measure P, a half-cent sales tax that gained 59.77 percent of the vote while needing a two-thirds majority.
The tax, if approved by two-thirds of county voters, would apply in the incorporated and unincorporated areas of San Benito County. The funds would go toward such projects as repairing potholes, improving local roads, widening Highway 25, improving pedestrian and bicycle safety, providing mobility services for seniors and others, and to qualify for state and federal matching funds.
Some of the major donors listed in the Form 460 documents include Dobler and Sons for $5,000; Newport Pacific Land Co. for $10,000; Graniterock for $10,000; Richland Real Estate Fund for $10,000; Willis Construction for $5,000; Recology for $5,000; Whitson Engineers for $2,500; and Kimley Horn & Associates for $1,500, according to the records.
The campaign manager is listed as Chase Graves, who was paid $3,500 for the work.
-Kollin Kosmicki
Look back for more on campaign finance documents due Thursday.
