Park group spends more

The pro-Measure B group City Hall in the Park has shelled out about $30,000 more than what its opposition spent on campaign literature, advertising and polling in the final weeks before the Feb. 5 election, records show.

“We have to pay a lot of money because everything that we do has to be accurate,” said lead Measure B proponent Bill Ficker. “We have to have excellent consultants to make sure we know what we’re talking about.”

City Hall in the Park spent more than $77,000 to promote the ballot measure during the first three weeks of January, according to campaign disclosure records. The group spent about $12,000 for polling and survey research and roughly $40,000 on campaign literature and postage, among other expenditures, between Jan. 1 and 19, records show.

In contrast, the group Newporters Vote No on Measure B, spent about $47,000 total during the same three-week period, according to campaign records. Newporters Vote No on B has struggled to keep up with City Hall in the Park’s spending, said Karen Tringali, a campaign organizer for the No on B camp.

“Our priority has never changed — it’s to reach as many Newport Beach voters as possible with the facts,” Tringali said. “We’re using every single method that’s available to do that.”

Newporters Vote No on B spent $2,095 on campaign literature during the first three weeks of January and $398 on polling and survey research, according to campaign records. The group’s biggest expense was $33,356 for graphic design, printing and its website. Most of City Hall in the Park’s funding has come from Jack Croul, a prominent retired Newport Beach businessman. Croul has given the group $468,223 so far, records show.

Audrey Steele Burnand has given $125,000 to the No on B campaign, records show. Last-minute donations to Newporters Vote No on B continue to trickle in, Tringali said, and the group has managed to raise about $5,400 in donations in January, according to campaign records.

Measure B would amend the city charter to require the next Newport Beach City Hall to be built on a tract of city-owned land next to the central library on Avocado Avenue. City Hall in the Park supporters claim the site would be the best and most cost-effective place to build the next city hall.

Supporters of the group Newporters Vote No on B claim city officials once promised to build a park on the site next to the library and that the charter amendment would give the city a blank check to build a city hall on the land no matter what the cost to taxpayers.

Amounts each group spent on campaigns from Jan. 1-19:

CITY HALL IN THE PARK

About $77,000

NEWPORTERS VOTE NO ON B

About $47,000

— Campaign Disclosure Statements

How much of an effect will money have on the outcome of the Measure B vote? E-mail responses to dailypilot@latimes.com.

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at brianna.bailey@latimes.com.