The basics: $86,000+ spent to pass Measure E – ALL from developers, NONE from residents:
- TELACU construction $25,000
- PJHM Architects $10,000
- Barnhart Reese Construction $25,000
- Ruhnau Clark Architects $25,000
- Sandy Pringle Associates $1500
Contrast that to the expenditures against Measure E, with contributions entirely from Culver City residents and stakeholders:
- $3000 from Protect Culver City
- $2000 from Save CCUSD
$86,000 investment for a $360 million bond ROI? Where do WE sign up?
Furthermore, TELACU has been going around campaigning for the bond measure. Clearly, this is a conflict of interest. But while activists accused Hackman of buying out the city by giving us $5000, they are utterly silent on this issue.
That this is a naked tax grab for fat developer contracts is already evident. But by proponents’ own argument, voter’s only oversight to this will be the state oversight board.
Meanwhile, we have Measure K from 2018 to see just how little oversight to expect. Measure K raised over $2 million a year for school programs. Most of it wound up going to a single contractor, New Earth – after the oversight committee had been dissolved, and with little to show for it. When residents demanded an accounting of how the money was spent, they were met with Cease and Desist orders – from New Earth, with contact info provided by our new Assistant Superintendent of DEI.
Yes, it’s true. While we need $360 million to fix leaky roofs, we can afford a DEI assistant superintendent – complete with office and staff. Who is now on leave, presumably because of the above scandal.
This is in addition to many other ethical issues plaguing our school district. The idea of a bond measure to cover repairs has raised the attention of the county, which has asked for an audit of the city’s finances. The school district is also under fire for using school resources for political purposes, including their parental e-mail list.
So there you have every reason to doubt Measure E funds will go where they’re stated – even if you agree with the stated goal. The details of this are still a bit iffy, but that’s the story as we understand it.
So what can you do?
We found that people who are supporting Measure E have been subjected to the pro-E campaign before we had a chance to talk to them. Proponents have made some false claims, like that it won’t involve any tax increase, and is just free money from the state. This is false. It’s a $600/mil/year property tax increase. So if your home is valued at $1.5mil, you can expect to pay almost $1000/yr to pay for this.
So, talk to your neighbors about this. If you know someone with a YES on E sign, ask them if they’re aware of this information.
We put out our door hanger campaign, and that’s all the money we have to spend on the issue. But letters to the editor are free, and so are forwarded e-mails. If people want, we can create a PDF flyer to hand to neighbors to enlighten them about this issue.
Successful campaigns have the three M’s – Money, Message, Militants. All the proponents have is money, and its ability to amplify a tiny voice. We have the message, and we have the militants to get it out. Let’s make sure our neighbors are aware of this disaster of a measure.