The campaign to change California’s legislative term limits has become a televised advertising battle, as the opponents of the measure have launched two advertisements, while proponents of the measure will begin airing ads on Tuesday all the way through Feb. 4, according to public records.
The No on 93 campaign reported $250,000 worth of unspecified media buys in filings made with the secretary of state’s office late last week. Campaign strategists announced their first two ads today, which they say are airing in “select” media markets. That $250,000 is a relatively tiny sum in California, where it takes millions to pay for a sustained statewide ad campaign.
The new ads take aim at Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, the chief proponents of the measure, for the former’s “lavish” campaign spending and the raid of the latter’s home by the FBI. (Watch them at the bottom of this story.)
Kevin Spillane, a spokesman for the campaign, said it’s the initial volley of what he said would be “several million dollars spent on television during this campaign by the no side.”
He said the TV spots are “shining a spotlight on the two politicians behind Proposition 93.”
Richard Stapler, a spokesman for the Yes campaign, called them “trash politics at its worst.”
“It ignores what we are trying to do with Proposition 93, which is make the Legislature more efficient and effective,” Stapler said.
The No on 93 ads won’t be on the air alone for long.
In Sacramento, Yes on 93 ads will begin airing on KCRA, the market’s top-rated network, and on cable starting Tuesday.
The campaign has purchased almost $200,000 worth of air time in Sacramento from Tuesday through Sunday to press voters to support Proposition 93, according to public records obtained by Capitol Alert.
Stapler declined to confirm that or comment on the nature of his campaign’s ads, saying, “We’ll certainly be showing you what we are doing when we do it.”
The main Yes on 93 campaign, which is being run by Democratic consultant Gale Kaufman, an adviser to Núñez, has reported raising $6.3 million in large and late contributions. A second Yes on 93 effort, with ties to the Senate, has reported raising more than $600,000.
The No on 93 effort has reported raising $4.2 million, with $1.5 million coming from the personal fortune of Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner, $1 million from the California Correctional Peace Officers Association and $1.5 million from U.S. Term Limits, a Virginia-based nonprofit dedicated to strict limits on lawmakers.
The measure, which is backed by Núñez and Perata, would extend the terms of nearly three dozen current lawmakers, but would also shorten the maximum time served by future legislators, from 14 to 12 years.
Under current law, lawmakers can serve six years in the Assembly and eight in the Senate. If passed, Proposition 93 would allow politicians to serve up to 12 years total in either house.
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