The committee supporting California’s Proposition 31 — a measure that would ban in-person sales of flavored tobacco products — has the received the overwhelming majority of its funds from billionaire Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor and 2020 presidential candidate, according to campaign finance records.
Of the $17.3 million raised by the “yes” on Prop. 31 committee, $15.3 million has come from Bloomberg, California campaign finance records reviewed by SFGATE show.
The “no” committee has raised just $2.1 million, meaning that 79% of the money spent in the race has come from just one person: Bloomberg. The Kaiser Foundation Health Plan is the second largest contributor in the race, giving $1.1 million to the “yes” campaign. The “no” campaign has been primarily funded by two tobacco companies: Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, which gave $1.2 million and $743,000, respectively.
Bloomberg has been on a crusade against flavored tobacco products for years. In 2019, he pledged $160 million to push government officials at the state, local and federal levels to ban e-cigarettes and other flavored tobacco products, which he says specifically target children. During his presidential run, Bloomberg vowed to ban flavored e-cigarettes nationally.
Before Bloomberg’s push against flavored tobacco products, he famously tried to implement a ban on large sugary drinks in New York City that was struck down by that state’s courts.
While Bloomberg’s contributions to Prop. 31 are large, they’re dwarfed by spending on a few other measures. The combined spending on Props. 26 and 27 (dueling measures to legalize sports betting) stands at $561 million as of Oct. 13. The spending on Prop. 29 (new kidney dialysis regulations) is at $102.4 million, while spending on Prop. 30 (a tax on high-income earners that would fund electrical vehicles) is at $67 million. Lyft, which would stand to gain from Prop. 30, has spent $45.3 million of that $67 million.
Still, Bloomberg’s Prop. 31 contributions exceed the total spending on two other California ballot measures: Prop. 1, which would add abortion protections to California’s constitution (both sides have combined to spend $13.2 million as of Oct. 13), and Prop. 28, which provides additional funding to arts and music education in public schools ($11 million as of Oct. 13).
Eric Ting – SFgate – 2022-10-13.
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