Pubdate: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 Source: Chico Enterprise-Record (CA) Copyright: 2014 Chico Enterprise-Record Contact: http://www.chicoer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/861 Note: Letters from newspaper's circulation area receive publishing priority Author: Roger Aylworth NO ON A COMMITTEE LEADS IN CONTRIBUTIONS OROVILLE - If the success or failure of Measures A and B on the November ballot were dependent on finances alone, those opposed to A and in favor of B would have the election in the bag. The two measures are competing proposals related to the legal cultivation of medical marijuana in Butte County. One group called "Butte County Citizens Against Irresponsible Government, Yes on Measure B and No on Measure A," is the organization seeking to have less strict rules on medical marijuana cultivation. The other committee, called "Citizens for a Safer Butte County, Yes on A, No on B," is in favor of the more stringent rules on cannabis growers under Measure A. According to the most recent campaign donation figures, the "No on A" committee has collected $90,451 in cash contributions and an additional $7,599 in "non-cash contributions." Non-cash donations are goods and services given to a campaign that do not involve money changing hands. As of the Sept. 30 document, the group had spent $100,519 on the campaign and had $13,801 in unpaid debt. The "Yes on Measure A" committee reported receiving $32,775 in cash contributions and another $733 in "non-cash contributions" for a grand total of $33,508. They reported spending $18,653 and have no outstanding debt. Those totals for both committees are for the entire calendar year. During the period between July 1 and Sept. 30, the No on A people reported receiving 34 cash contributions, some of those from individuals or firms that had made previous donations to the cause. According to the report, 15 of those donations were for $1,000 or more year to date. The report says six of the Yes on A donors contributed $1,000 or more year to date. The document also says the largest single donor on either side of the question was the Butte County Farm Bureau, which gave $10,000 to the Yes on A campaign. No current or former elected Butte County officials were listed as contributors to the No on A effort, while seven were listed as contributors to the Yes on A side. The document says current county Clerk-Recorder Candace Grubbs and the Grubbs Farm donated $500 each to the campaign, Chico Supervisor Maureen Kirk contributed $200, and Chico Supervisor Larry Wahl's "Larry Wahl for Supervisor 2018" committee had made a $1,000 contribution. Oroville Supervisor Bill Connelly's "Connelly for Assessor" committee donated $100. District Attorney Mike Ramsey contributed $500 to Yes on A as did former Butte County Sheriffs Perry Reniff and Jerry Smith. For a detailed list of all contributors to the ballot measure committees, visit http://goo.gl/qVRqdk on the Internet. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom