Modesto sales tax campaign getting financial support from well-known businesses
The campaign for Measure H — Modesto’s 1% sales tax on the Nov. 8 ballot — already has raised $56,500 from 15 donors.
The contributors include some of the city’s more prominent businesses. For instance, Boyett Petroleum donated $10,000 and the Beard Land Improvement Co. donated $5,000. The company owns the Beard Industrial District, a 2,000-acre industrial park.
The Modesto Chamber of Commerce contributed $2,500, and Valley Lexus gave $5,000. Stockton-based Collins Electrical Co., which has a branch in Modesto, contributed $10,000.
Each of the 15 contributions to the Measure H campaign, which is called the Committee for a Better Modesto, is for at least $1,000. The state requires contributions of $1,000 or more to be reported within 24 hours.
The Committee for a Better Modesto is required to report to the city on Sept. 29 how much it raised from July 1 through Sept. 24 from all donors. The previous reporting period was Jan. 1 through June 30, but the committee did not file a report for that period because it was not formed until mid-July.
The 15 contributions were reported to the city from July 22 through Aug. 24. There is no official campaign opposing the sales tax.
The financial support for the Measure H campaign is different from the support for the two previous and unsuccessful efforts to pass a sales tax in Modesto.
Measure X for the November 2013 election raised about $180,000 with more than $100,000 of that coming from the Modesto Police Officers Association and nearly $54,000 from the Modesto City Fire Fighters Association. (Modesto moved from odd-year to even-year elections in 2020.)
The Bee reported in November 2015 as Measure G failed at the polls that the campaign had raised about $31,000 with much of that coming from then-Mayor Garrad Marsh and his wife, Dallas, as well as $9,500 from Nancy Hawn, the wife of former Councilman Brad Hawn.
The Committee for a Better Modesto hopes to raise $200,000 to $300,000 to get its message out through mailers and other means. It expects to raise about half through private-sector contributions.
Former Modesto Councilwoman Kristin Olsen is the committee chairwoman and has said it is highly unusual for a campaign to raise that much from the private sector. But she has said that shows the level of community support for the sales tax. (Olsen also served in the California Assembly and on the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors.)
The City Council voted 6-0 on June 28 to put the 1% sales tax on the Nov. 8 ballot.
If approved by voters, Measure H would bring in an estimated $39 million annually to Modesto’s $171 million general fund. About 80% of the fund is spent on public safety.
The general fund is supported by sales, property and other taxes. Modesto officials say the fund never has fully recovered from the Great Recession of more than a decade ago, leading to ongoing structural deficits. The city has balanced the fund through such measures as freezing or eliminating open positions, deferring maintenance and reducing services.
Collins Electrical co-CEO and Modesto resident Brian Gini said he did not support Modesto’s two previous sales tax measures but he supports Measure H. His company contributed $10,000 to the campaign because he wants a vibrant downtown and more public safety as Modesto recovers from the pandemic, he said.
Four other contributors, including Beard Land and Boyett, did not respond to requests for comment.
Measure H is a general tax, which requires a simple majority to pass. If approved by voters, Modesto’s sales tax would increase from 7.875% to 8.875%. The tax does not have an end date. It would take another election to end the tax.
The city could spend the tax on any of the services it provides. But Measure H states the city would spend the tax on such services as more police patrols and fire protection, addressing homelessness, reducing blight and keeping streets, parks and other public spaces clean and safe.
The City Council would create a nine-member community oversight board to review how the tax is spent and to make public reports to the council. The committee also would hold public meetings.
The other businesses and people who have contributed at least $1,000 each to the Measure H campaign as of Aug. 24 are:
▪ Hughson resident and philanthropist John Rogers — $5,000
▪ Stockton-based real estate developer NewFh Inc. — $2,000
▪ Modesto-based CoSol Commercial Real Estate — $1,000
▪ Salida-based Fitzpatrick Homes — $2,000
▪ Lodi-based F&M Bank — $3,000
▪ Civil engineer Dave Romano with Modesto-based Newman-Romano — $1,000
▪ Oakdale-based Oak Valley Community Bank — $5,000
▪ Former state Sen. Anthony Cannella’s 2024 campaign for supervisor — $1,000
▪ Modesto City Fire Fighters Association — $3,000
▪ Kristin Olsen — $1,000
This story was originally published August 30, 2022 at 6:00 AM.
