When Hermosa Beach voters came out to defeat Measure O Tuesday night, a campaign with 15 times less funding overcame a spending giant.
According to financial documents disclosed under California Fair Political Practices Commission, E & B Natural Resources spent over $750,000 from January 1 to February 14 of this year in an attempt to win the right to drill in Hermosa Beach. This funding made up 100 percent of the Hermosa Beach Residents for a Better Tomorrow (Yes on O) campaign budget.
Stop Hermosa Beach Oil, the major anti-oil campaign, spent $52.564 in the same time period.
“This was entirely a community effort,” said activist Kevin Sousa, addressing the jubilant crowd the No on O victory party at the Standing Room Tuesday night. “We are students, CEOs, mothers, artists, dreamers and freaks in this funky little beach town and we won’t let it be taken from us. This was our day. It was individual contributions versus a Goliath oil company that thought it could just throw money at us.”
Stop Hermosa Beach Oil treasurer George Schmeltzer was overwhelmed by the number of contributions his group saw from the community.
“We’ve been gratified by the way people have responded,” he said. “We received contributions from across the city, from the north end to the south end, east and west of the highway and from young people and retired people.”
A majority of the contributions made to Stop Hermosa Beach Oil were resident donations of $200 or less. From January 18 to February 14 of this year, alone, the group managed to raise $114k in cash and non-monetary donations.
Stop Oil in Hermosa Beach spent the majority of its funding on print ads, campaign paraphernalia and legal defense. They also used the funds to pay for political consultation from the Sammarco Group.
Hermosa Beach Residents for a Better Tomorrow spent its funds on television ads and multiple high-cost political consultants. It also paid the Costin Outreach Group over $70,000 to canvass for the campaign.
Jose Bacallao of Heal the Bay said the volunteer base in Hermosa led to Measure O’s defeat.
“There were families, young people, old people,” he said. “People making calls and knocking on doors. There was an overwhelming amount of passion to defeat this measure. There are no sell outs in Hermosa Beach.”
