In The News

Bringing home the BBacon

Consultant on N. County bonds has sterling record

By Craig Gustafson
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

October 28, 2004

ESCONDIDO – How do you persuade voters in a fiscally conservative city of 140,000 to raise their property taxes for 30 years?

Just ask the Lew Edwards Group.

The Oakland-based consulting firm has been paid nearly $450,000 for its work on separate bond campaigns in inland North County.

The Lew Edwards game plan – hammer home the need, build support among community leaders and engage the public – is nothing new to proposition politics. What sets the firm apart may be its impressive track record.

The firm says that from November 2001 to March, it helped pass more than $10.4 billion in bonds across California, with a success rate of 95 percent.

With that history, it's no surprise that the city of Escondido and Palomar Pomerado Health turned to the Lew Edwards Group when they began exploring publicly funded projects.

In Escondido, city leaders placed Proposition P on Tuesday's ballot. The $84.3 million bond measure would be used to build new police and fire facilities.

The hospital district, which covers 800 square miles in inland North County, is pushing Proposition BB. The $496 million bond would pay for the bulk of a $753 million expansion plan that includes a new hospital.

Each measure needs a two-thirds majority, and therein lies the difficulty.

Bonds typically face an uphill battle on any election day, so careful and methodical planning are a must.

"Two-thirds is a very, very high bar," said Glen Sparrow, a local government expert and emeritus professor at San Diego State University's School of Public Administration and Urban Studies. "It's hard not to find a third of people who won't be against something just because."

Jason Barnett, an associate with Lew Edwards who worked closely on both bond campaigns, said communication and outreach are the keys to success.

"Folks want to know straight-up what you're doing and why," he said. "Helping folks communicate with their voters is key, just so people really understand what they're being presented with."

For Propositions BB and P, officials have adhered closely to the Lew Edwards strategy, outlined in hundreds of pages of reports it provided, and remain confident that voters will approve both Tuesday.

"I know that we're all very comfortable with (Lew Edwards) and what they bring to the equation," said Gustavo Friederichsen, the hospital district's chief marketing and communications officer. "They know what works and what doesn't."

Lew Edwards meticulously plans its bond campaigns, making recommendations on everything from how to talk to reporters to a "do's and don'ts" list for officials. Nothing is left to chance.

According to public records obtained from Palomar Pomerado Health and Escondido, Lew Edwards' recommendations included:

• Hitching the bond measures to a ballot that includes a presidential election for the highest participation possible. More important, a presidential election brings out more Democrats and independents, and they're more likely to vote for tax increases, Barnett said.
• Creating a citizens review committee that will independently monitor how the bond money is spent. Calling it "an extra layer of insurance," Barnett said voters want to know they'll get what they pay for and be able to hold elected officials accountable.
• Packing public meetings with supporters. In August, for example, more than 150 people attended the hospital district's board meeting, and dozens spoke in favor of its expansion plans. The meeting typically attracts a handful of spectators.
• Message discipline, including real-life examples of the need. Talk to enough officials and you're bound to hear the same story again and again: Hospital beds are full by 9 a.m., and emergency-room waits can last for hours. On several occasions, Escondido officials have said their crowded police headquarters puts crime suspects in close proximity to victims and small children.

The Lew Edwards Group also directed officials to conduct hundreds of meetings with various community groups, actively seek the support of elected representatives, repeatedly express the need for projects, and avoid premature discussions about costs.

Throughout the year, polls for both bonds have shown an increase in support as the informational campaign progressed. Tuesday's vote will reveal whether that will be enough to reach the magic 66.7 percent.

Excerpted from San Diego Union Tribune Article by Craig Gustafson: (760) 737-7559;

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