Sonoma County spent big to fight Prop. 8

<p>Sonoma County supporters of gay marriage outspent those who wanted to see it banned in California by more than 5 to 1, contributing more than half a million dollars to the failed effort to block Proposition 8 in last fall’s election.</p><p>County residents, including a Healdsburg grape grower who contributed more than $133,000 to the fight, poured more than $544,000 into the record-breaking campaign to block the measure, according to campaign filings released Monday.</p><p>That kind of financial support gave Sonoma County an outsized influence in the battle, the most expensive proposition fight ever. </p><p>Sonoma County ranked 10th in the state in total donations against the proposition, more than far larger counties such as Contra Costa and Riverside.</p><p>“I think by any measure in Sonoma County politics, it’s a really big number,” said Dave Ring, fund-raising chairman of the Wine Country Says No On 8 committee. </p><p>Ring, a 53-year-old retired Cisco Systems executive who now grows grapes in Healdsburg, was the single largest donor to the campaign at $133,644. </p><p>Despite the passage of Proposition 8 statewide by 52 percent to 48 percent, Ring said he doesn’t see his donations as money wasted. </p><p>“This was another step in a lengthy civil right struggle,” said Ring, who is 53 and has been with partner Stu Harrison for 26 years. “I think we made a lot of progress, particularly in Sonoma County.”</p><p>Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment, eliminated the right to same-sex marriage that had been established earlier in the year by the state Supreme Court.</p><p>The amount of money raised to fight Proposition 8 far exceeded the cash raised to fight Proposition 22 in 2000, Ring said, an effort to which he made a similarly large personal donation. </p><p>“If we’d had the same improvement statewide that we had in Sonoma County, we’d have won,” Ring said. </p><p>Sonoma County residents contributed a total of $641,941 on Proposition 8, 85 percent of it against and 15 percent in support. </p><p>The lopsided financial support against the initiative was even greater than the level of opposition expressed at the ballot box. Sonoma County voters opposed Proposition 8 by 66percent to 34 percent. The measure is now facing numerous court challenges. </p><p>More than $83 million was donated to support or oppose the ballot initiative abolishing same-sex marriage in California, according to the filings. </p><p>The new filings cover the weeks immediately before and after the Nov. 4 election. They show that elected officials, businesses, churches and individuals poured more than $28 million into the campaign during the contest’s closing days.</p><p>Mendocino County residents spent a total of $45,337 on the initiative, 87 percent against, 13 in favor. Napa County residents spent $77,384, 62 percent against, 38 in favor. And Lake County residents spent $20,124, with 13 percent against and 87percent in favor, filings show. </p><p>The largest supporter of Proposition 8 in Sonoma County was Santa Rosa resident Charles Stoddard. He is president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ Santa Rosa Mission and oversees the missionaries working from Santa Rosa to the Oregon border. </p><p>Stoddard, who lists himself as retired, donated $20,000 to support Proposition 8. He did not return a call for comment. </p><p>The Mormon Church, which has been criticized for urging its members to support Proposition 8, says it spent $190,000 to help get the initiative passed.</p><p>How much its members donated individually is difficult to tally. Campaign filings only require people to list their occupation, not religion. </p><p>In Sonoma County, filings make just one reference to the church. David Stockton of Sebastopol donated $100, and he listed his occupation as “Institute Director” of “LDS Church.”</p><p>A group called Mormons for 8 Donors, which tracks Mormon donors, identified two Mormon donors from Sonoma County in addition to Stoddard who supported Proposition 8 with about $2,000 in contributions.</p><p>Nationwide, it identified church members as donating a total of $16 million to support the initiative.</p><p>Researcher Michelle Van Hoeck contributed to this report. You can reach Staff Writer Kevin McCallum at 521-5207 or kevin.mccallum@pressdemocrat.com.</p>