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News Article
March 23, 2006
Sacramento Bee
Prop. 82 effort raises $2 million
Supporters of director Rob Reiner's effort to establish universal preschool have raised more than $2 million this year for Proposition 82 on the June 6 ballot, according to campaign finance forms filed Wednesday.
Opponents in the business community, meanwhile, raised about a tenth as much - $203,363 - and listed $434,465 in debts.
Proposition 82 would would raise state income taxes on high earners to pay for preschool for all of California's four-year-olds.
Reiner, who contributed $330,000 of his own money to the campaign, saw the effort bolstered by a $500,000 contribution from Colorado billionaire Pat A. Stryker, $300,000 from the California Teachers Association and $250,000 from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, AFL-CIO.
The campaign spent $951,883 from Jan. 1 through last Friday and had nearly $1.7 million on hand.
Top contributors to the opponents included commercial lender Baron Real Estate of Redondo Beach ($100,000), investor Charles T. Munger ($35,000) and the California Business Roundtable ($25,000).