No on Measure B Coalition files 19 days late; reveals 86% of money from out-of-county marijuana lobby

YES ON B COALITION
YesOnB@pacific.net - 759 S. State St. #114, Ukiah CA

NEWS RELEASE - April 16, 2008

In a campaign disclosure statement filed 19 days after the deadline, the No On Measure B Coalition reported $1748 in donations through March 17, 2008, with $1500 coming from out-of-county marijuna advocacy groups.
National Organization for Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), 2215-R Market Street, San Francisco, is listed as contributing $1000 to the effort to block Measure B. Donna Ruth Frank of the Organic Cannabis Foundation, P.O. Box 14146, Santa Rosa, is listed as contributing $500.

The mandatory campaign disclosure form for the period ending March 17, 2008 was required under law to be filed with County Clerk Susan Ranochak by March 24, 2008. Failure to file timely disclosure is a misdemeanor under Government Code Section 91000, punishable by jail or a fine up to $10,000.

According to the County Clerk's office, county officials are currently considering whether to impose sanctions on the No On Measure B Coalition and its officers, chair Laura Hamburg and treasurer Tom Davenport.

"This violation is especially serious because we advised the No On Measure B Coalition of the disclosure rules in a letter on March 17, 2008," said Yes On B Coalition spokesman Ross Liberty. "We anticipated that outside pro-marijuana forces would interfere in this election and we wanted the public's right to know to be respected."

Another group opposed to Measure B, the Green Party Working Group, reported $800 in donations through March 17, all of it from NORML's California affiliate.

No on B "push poll" underway

Heavy spending by the No On Measure B side became clear in the past week when Mendocino County residents received "push poll" telephone calls from EMC-Edward McDonald Corporation asking a series of leading questions designed to stimulate anti-Measure B attitudes.

"Push polls" of this kind cost a minimum of $5,000 and possibly several times that much, according to professional campaign industry sources.

"We call on the No On Measure B Coalition to disclose who is paying for this obnoxious telephone poll and to reveal the script that the telephone solicitors are reading from," said Ross Liberty of the Yes On B Coalition. "We won't engage in a campaign tactic like a push-poll. All our money is going for forthright and open campaign information like mailers."

Liberty noted that the Yes On B Coalition issued a challenge to the No On B groups last month to refuse any outside funding. "It's obvious that they refused our proposal and are going to get every dollar they can from outside pro-marijuana forces to try to interfere in the decision of the people of Mendocino County," Liberty said.