| | Published October 15th, 2008
| The Initiative Campaigns: Where the money comes from, where it goes, and some BIG surprises
| | By Sophie Braccini |  | |
In Moraga, the candidates for Town Council raised and spent anywhere from $700 to $9000 and the 'No on J and K' campaign raised over $2000. MOSO 2008, Measure K, stepped it up more than a notch with expenses in the $40,000 range. All of which pales in comparison to Measure J, entirely financed by the Russell Bruzzone Corporation, with expenses in the vicinity of half of a million dollars.
October 6th was the day for local campaign committees to file their quarterly financial statements. The documents, known as 460 reports, are public and list the contributions received as well as the expenses incurred.
82% of Measure K funding has come from residents with an address in Moraga. 29% of these residents live in unincorporated parts of the county (with Moraga addresses). Many of them live close to the Bruzzone property in Bollinger Canyon, and would be the most impacted by the development of that property. The support of the "unincorporated residents" has been the grounds on which opponents of Measure K have charged that the measure is supported by "outsiders." It should be noted, however, that most of these residents send their children to Moraga schools and contribute to the school district, they are members of Moraga community groups, shop in town and some are employed in the town.
The Measure J campaign has spent over ten times more than that of Measure K.
Categorized by type of expense the difference is more distinct: Backers of Measure J spent 25 times what Measure K spent on campaign consultants, and 37 times more in legal and accounting fees.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA