Updated: 11:09 p.m.
With 100 percent of the vote counted, Prop B in Solana Beach has passed with 52 percent of the vote.
Not surprisingly, the battle over public use of the Fletcher Cove Community Center in Solana Beach has not attracted the millions of dollars raised for the San Diego mayor’s race.
In fact the dispute over the clifftop gathering spot only attracted financial support from a few dozen residents. The special election is costing the small beachside city about $200,000.
Supporters of Prop B want to lift restrictions on how many private parties can happen at the newly remodeled community center and how much people can drink there. They paid $24,000 to gather the signatures to put the measure on the ballot.
Then they raised almost $32,000 to campaign for the measure.
But it should be noted that $30,000 of that was contributed by one man, Peter House. He also may have covered the $24,000 for the signature gatherers. Apart from him, half a dozen others contributed less than $2,000 between them, giving small contributions of between $50 and $250 each.
Their last campaign disclosure, filed on Feb 6th, suggests supporters of the initiative have spent more than $50,000 already and have $36,00 in unpaid bills.
On the other side, opponents of the initiative include city council members, whose compromise regulations the measure seeks to overturn. The "No on Prop B" people raised close to $12,000. The contributions come from about 40 residents who gave anything from $50 to $1,000. A number of them live near the beach-side community center at the center of the controversy.
City councilwoman Lesa Heebner also declared $3,000, spent to send out a letter to every resident, explaining the city council’s position. She points out the city council attempted to craft a compromise that could be modified over time, whereas the initiative, if passed, can only be undone by another vote of the people.
That could cost the city another couple of hundred thousand dollars, if public dissatisfaction turns it into yet another special election.
