GILROY
– More than 100 donors contributing between $20 and $7,500 each
are putting their money where their mouth is this election
season.
GILROY – More than 100 donors contributing between $20 and $7,500 each are putting their money where their mouth is this election season. Fund-raising efforts in support of Measure I – Gilroy’s $69 million school bond – have brought in nearly $40,000, according to the most recent campaign filings with the city clerk.
“And we’re not done yet,” said Gilroy Unified School District Trustee Bob Kraemer, who co-chairs the grassroots group – Better Schools for Gilroy Children – backing the district’s largest-ever facilities bond.
Among the donations listed in the city’s records is a $5,000 gift from George K. Baum & Company (GKB), the Denver-based investment banking firm that will underwrite the bonds if Measure I garners 55 percent or more of the vote Nov. 5. The $5,000 is a drop in the bucket for GKB, which stands to gain 1 percent of the $69 million in bonds.
“We’re going to take contributions from any company who is in favor of Gilroy school children being successful. I don’t feel at all dirty about it, if that’s the fundamental question to be answered,” said Kraemer. “I don’t like the fact that we have to raise money to get a bond passed, but it takes money to run a campaign.”
Kraemer asserted that taking a donation from the underwriter in no way amounts to a “pay to play” scheme. Kraemer said GKB was hired to underwrite the bonds before they were approached by Better Schools for a donation.
The largest donation to the Measure I campaign – $7,500 – came from H.A. Ekelin & Associates, the Salinas-based building contractors who are currently constructing the district’s new middle school, Ascencion Solorsano.
H.A. Ekelin has not signed on to do any work if Measure I passes, although it is likely they would make a bid to do the work. Superintendent Edwin Diaz stated firmly that the company’s contribution would not give them an advantage if or when the district puts construction work out to bid.
“If you know state law, we have to go by the lowest responsible bidder,” said Diaz. “I assume they contributed because they have done past work for the district and have benefited from the district.”
Donations to Better Schools for Gilroy Children will ultimately end up in the hands of Tramutola Public Mobilization, an Oakland-based political consulting firm that will earn $65,000 if Measure I passes with 55 percent of the vote or more Nov. 5.
An intensive mailing campaign is also soaking up a large portion of the group’s funds. As of Friday morning, at least two pro-Measure I mailers were sent to Gilroy homeowners. The high-gloss brochures cost between $5,000 to $8,000 for each mailing. Better Schools for Gilroy Children has declined to provide the cost of designing and producing the mailers.
The mailers, more of which could be coming to homeowners before Election Day, are a stark contrast from the glut of signs, buttons and newspaper editorials used by Better Schools in their failed bond measure last spring. In the March 2002 election, a similar school bond failed to garner approval by just 146 votes.
Measure I calls for similar upgrades to district campuses, but also sets money aside for construction of a new high school. It also sets up an oversight committee to keep the district on track with its facilities goals.
The difference in the measures will be enough to trigger a yes vote from Sandra Ogle, a district parent who voted no on Measure D. Photos of Ogle and a letter from her to voters explaining her change of heart graced the pages of a mailer sent to homes earlier this week.
Ogle said she was happy with the way the flyer turned out and said Better Schools for Gilroy Children approached her to be featured in that mailer.
“I guess because I was vocal about my opposition last time around, they kept coming across my name. But it wasn’t like I was going door to door telling people to vote no. I was just telling people how I was going to vote and why. I’m not politically active, but I’m not very shy about my opinions either.”
In October, Measure I received unanimous support from the Gilroy City Council and the Gavilan College Board of Trustees. It has also gained 61 percent voter approval, according to surveys done by Better Schools. On Thursday, the Gilroy Dispatch also endorsed the measure.
The Better Schools for Gilroy Children could receive a minor setback in the next few days. Bill O’Connor, the group’s treasurer, learned Friday that he may need to file campaign contribution information with the county registrar’s office. He has been filing the documents with the Gilroy city clerk, something he was told to do in the last election, O’Connor said.
“If it was a mistake, it certainly wasn’t intended. We’ve been reporting even more than we’ve needed to,” O’Connor said.
Gilroy schools have a “tremendous need” for repairs, upgrades and expansions, said Kraemer.
“In all this campaigning, I hope that’s the message that gets out,” Kraemer said.
