Hollister
– The Yes-on-Measure-S campaign spent more than $1.1 million,
according to the group’s final filing with the City of
Hollister.
Hollister – The Yes-on-Measure-S campaign spent more than $1.1 million, according to the group’s final filing with the City of Hollister.
That makes the Yes-on-S campaign by far the most expensive in San Benito history. A number of county officials and residents have told the Free Lance that the only group with comparable spending was the anti-Measure G campaign, which spent around $340,000 in 2003 and 2004.
Del Webb, a subsidiary of developer Pulte Homes, hoped to build a Sun City senior community of up to 4,400 homes in Hollister. Measure S would have exempted the project from the city’s annual 244-unit cap on building permits. The measure drew vocal support and opposition. But on Nov. 7, it lost by a substantial margin, 58 percent to 42 percent.
Hollister resident Annette Giacomazzi, who led the Yes-on-S campaign, has said the energy and funding that Del Webb poured into the campaign were a good sign.
“Hollister deserved the level of professionalism and quality that Pulte/Del Webb brought to our community, and that the landowner envisioned for San Benito County,” Giacomazzi said. She added, “The people have spoken. It’s a new year and time to move on to new things.”
Del Webb’s Bay Area brand manager Mike Serpa said in January that a Sun City Hollister development is no longer being considered. He added that Del Webb is currently pulling back on development in general.
The campaign’s biggest contributors were Pulte Homes, with $267,293.82, and local developer Ken Gimelli, with $849,921.29. Gimelli owned the land that was targeted for the Del Webb development, but he said he supported the campaign because he thought the measure would benefit everyone in the community.
“I’ve lived here for 26 years, and I saw downtown die little by little,” Gimelli said.
He noted that even if the measure had passed, the project would still have gone through the normal planning and approvals process.
“I thought it wouldn’t hurt for people to listen, but they didn’t get that chance,” Gimelli said.
With 13,990 registered Hollister voters at the time of the Nov. 7 election, the campaign’s expenditures break down to about $80 per voter. In comparison, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s gubernatorial re-election campaign spent around $45 million, which breaks down to less than $3 per voter.
Although the final campaign filings were due Wednesday, No-on-S leader Gordon Machado said Thursday that he was still finalizing the numbers. However, he said the campaign spent less than $8,000. When told about the pro-Measure S group’s expenditures, Machado said, “I almost feel guilty.”
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or
ah*@fr***********.com
.
