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Funding for Yes and No Committees on Measure N revealed in public documents

Measure N graphic
Audrey Ryan / Tahoe Daily Tribune

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – September 26 was the deadline to submit campaign disclosure and contribution documents for both the support and opposition committees regarding Measure N, also known as the Tahoe Vacancy Tax. These documents, now in the public record, reveal what individuals, organizations, and groups have contributed money to each committee.

Both committees were required to submit their documents under the Political Reform Act of 1974, which regulates campaign financing, conflicts of interest, lobbying, and governmental ethics through the Fair Political Practices Commission. The full statements can be found on the City of South Lake Tahoe’s Public Records repository. All reported numbers come from the most recent documents which cover the statement period from July 1 to September 21.

Yes on Measure N Campaign Disclosures



The committee “Locals for Affordable Housing for Measure N with Nick Speal” received $37,645 in total this calendar year. This is made up of $29,525 monetary contributions, $8,000 in loans, and $120 in nonmonetary contributions.

In the most recent statement period, the campaign received $20,386 in monetary contributions, but paid $5,800 of their loans. In total, the Locals for Affordable Housing committee received a $14,586 contribution this period—almost 39% of their total contributions this calendar year.



There were 10 contributors to the fund during this pay period, mostly hailing from South Lake Tahoe. Among them were those employed as a nonprofit administrator, ski patroller, industrial ecologist, photographer, software engineer, and teacher. Of these, the only contributor who both lived and worked outside of South Lake Tahoe was Dara Smith, a director of assessor’s operations in Los Angeles County, who contributed $100.

FFPC documents do not include disclosure of contributions under $100. According to Amelia Richmond, 67 donors have contributed to the campaign to date. In this statement period, Richmond says, there were 41 donors in total. 31 of those donors made small contributions that totaled $1,157.

The largest contribution was made by Nick Speal in order to pay off the $5,800 loan taken out on August 22, 2023, and was due on August 22 of this year. The remaining $8,000 is due on November 15 of this year.

Payments on the disclosures are primarily to Olson Remcho, the leading political and government law firm in California. Olson Remcho advised the committee on the wording of the vacancy tax. They also reportedly represented them during the court case in August regarding a change in wording for the official voter information guide.

The committee also filed a Form 497, which are required to be filed when contributions exceed $1,000 and are made or received by a local committee in the 90 days before or on the date of the election. Speal’s previous contribution of $5,800 is listed on the form as well as an individual contribution of $12,000 from Scott Robbins.

The campaign paid expenditures of $17,326 this period, making the total amount of expenditures this calendar year $36,939.

Of the expenses listed in the most recent report, the largest amount, $3,025, went to Rutan & Tucker LLP, another leading law firm in California. Other expenses included volunteer recruitment meals, website and Zoom payments, printing signs and campaign materials, and placing print ads, including with the Tahoe Daily Tribune. They also paid $105 to ActBlue, a nonprofit providing fundraising tools for progressive organizations, nonprofits, and Democratic candidates. Locals for Affordable Housing is listed in the ActBlue directory for donations.

The ending cash balance for the Locals for Affordable Housing committee is $9,716.

No on Measure N Campaign Disclosures

The “No on Measure N, Stop the South Tahoe Vacancy Tax, a Coalition of South Tahoe Residents, Local Small Businesses, and Real Estate” committee received $1,066,705 in this calendar year, more than any past campaign commitee in the South Lake Tahoe area. During the statement period, a total of $756,855 monetary contributions were received, making up about 71% of their total contributions.

The contributors to this fund were nearly 200 individuals, business entities, and other political committees. Individuals who contributed were primarily retirees, but also included those who worked as CFOs, engineers, firefighters, sales and marketing representatives, real estate brokers, mortgage lenders, healthcare industry workers, and a pilot. Of these, many live outside of the city or even out of state—some come from as far as Texas or Florida. The largest individual contributions were two different payments of $1,000.

Of business entities who contributed to the fund were Americana Vacation Club, Incline Village Realtors Inc., KOR Realty Inc., Lake Valley Properties Inc., Macallan Investments Inc., Monarch Collective (a consortium of local property management companies and vacation rental companies located in Chicago, Ill.), National Association of Realtors (located in Washington, DC), Sierra Nevada Realtors PAC, Ski Run Management Co., South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association, Stardust Vacation Club, and Trinity Enterprises (located in Palo Alto, Calif.).

The National Association of Realtors provided $625,000 in this statement period, which was the single largest monetary contribution.

The sole committee contributing to the No on Measure N committee was the California Association of Realtors Issues Mobilization PAC, which contributed a total of $57,500. In total over the calendar year, the PAC has provided $325,500 cumulatively.

Payments on the disclosures went to Bell, McAndrews, & Hiltachk, LLP; California Strategic Advisors; Chillon Media Agency; Echelon Insights LLC; eFundraising Connections; Flexpoint Advocacy; Forward Observer Inc., GOCO Consulting, HexaCom Group LLC; Integrated Solutions: Political; Tahoe Production House; and The KAL Group, Inc.

The No on Measure N Committee also filed Form 497s for contributions exceeding $1,000 made or received by the committee in the 90 days before or on the date of the election. These included the contributions from Macallan Investments Inc. and the South Lake Tahoe Lodging Association, both of which contributed $5,000, the two individual contributions of $1,000, the National Association of Realtors contribution of $625,000, and the California Association of Realtors Issues Mobilization PAC contributing $14,500 on August 29.

The highest expenditures were $20,000 to Echelon Insights LLC for polling, $51,000 to the California Strategic Advisors for campaign consulting, $63,500 to GOCO Consulting, $274,012 to Flexpoint Advocacy for advertising on web, radio, and television, and $181,886 to HexaCom Group LLC for campaign materials, consulting, literature, and information technology costs.

The campaign’s Schedule F on the form indicates they must still pay $34,000 to California Strategic Advisors.

Other expenditures paid through HexaCom Group LLC on behalf of the committee were to media agencies, Flexpoint Advocacy, and the mailing company DMH Meyer Inc. DMH Meyer Inc. spent money on behalf of the committee for the USPS. Flexpoint Advocacy spent money on behalf of the committee for Facebook, Google, Lotus Radio, Twitter, Trade Desk, Spectrum Cable for internet, and the Tahoe Daily Tribune and South Tahoe Now for print advertising.

The total number of expenditures for this statement period was $594,102.50, which brings the calendar year’s expenditures to $720,154.17.

The ending cash balance for the No on Measure N committee is $346,550.83.


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