A combined $9.1 is being spent to defeat referendums in Berkeley and San Francisco on taxing sugar-sweetened beverages, 18 times more than the $489,000 proponents have gathered, according to published reports. Passage in either city would be the first “soda tax” in the country. The initiative in Berkeley requires a simple majority to pass. In San Francisco, a two-thirds majority is needed because the revenue is earmarked for public health and education.
The Daily Californian, based in Berkeley says the “No on Measure D” campaign “has received $1.4 million, the majority of it from the American Beverage Association. Supporters of the measure say this is the largest amount of money ever donated to a Berkeley campaign.” The Californian says the $85,000 donated by former New York mayor Michael Bloomberg in favor of the 1-cent-per-ounce tax is the largest donation to “Yes on D,” which has received $264,585 according to city documents.
“The American Beverage Industry has spent $7.7 million— the second-highest amount ever spent to defeat a San Francisco ballot proposition — on its effort to try to prevent the city from becoming the first in the country to tax sodas and other sugary drinks,” says the San Francisco Chronicle. “The campaign to pass Prop. E has raised $225,000 so far, mostly in small donations including several from medical groups and professionals.”