Parks for the Future

Win or lose today, we should all give ourselves a pat on the back for the hard work we did together to get the word out about the importance of parks and recreation in San Mateo County and the benefits that a new and dedicated source of funds would provide for our community. 

Thanks to our many generous campaign donors, we were able to run an aggressive and robust campaign that included mailers and phone calls to voters.  Some statistics include:

·          We sent 450,000 pieces of campaign mail to registered voters in the county, focusing on reaching those voters who were most likely to get out and vote in this primary election, highlighting the benefits of the measure to their community and hitting on the accountability built into the measure.

·          We followed up with 78,000 live phone calls to those voters through our phone banking efforts to identify supporters and another 70,000 automated calls yesterday and today encouraging supporters to either return their absentee ballots or get out to the polls today and vote. 

We secured a wide range of organizational and local government endorsements, including all five county supervisors, 17 of the 20 cities in the county, several school districts, and community organizations from business, labor, environmental, civic, and youth sports organizations.

Over 350 individuals endorsed the measure representing all walks of life and allowed us to use their names publicly with friends and neighbors.

We got good media coverage from editorials urging voters to support Measure O from the San Mateo Daily Journal, Menlo Park Almanac, Pacifica Tribune, and Half Moon Bay Review and good news articles laying out the reasons behind the campaign in all the papers in the county. 

We got over a dozen positive letters to the editor published and another half dozen guest opinion pieces from prominent community leaders explaining why they supported Measure O.

Thanks to the great help of our many volunteers, we were able to do considerable outreach in the community.

·          We presented to community groups including the Daly City retired employees association, the Half Moon Bay Lions Club; the East Palo Alto retailers association; the South Skyline Association; the Portola Valley Ranch,  Serramonte and several homeowners associations in San Mateo; the Millbrae and Belmont Rotary clubs; the San Mateo Downtown Business Association; the Coastside Film Society; the Woodside/Atherton Garden Club; the Atherton Dames; the Atherton Civic League; the Young Men’s Institute of South San Francisco; the Midcoast Community Council; the California Native Plant Society; the Millbrae Historical Association; the Millbrae Soroptimists Club; the Daly City Peninsula Partnership; the Sequoias, Peninsula Regent, East Palo Alto and Daly City senior centers;  San Mateo and Daly City meetings of Self Help for the Elderly; Juventus and several AYSO soccer groups; several field user committees; the Belmont-San Carlos Sierra Club Group; and many others. 

·          We tabled or handed out flyers to community festivals or gathering places including Little League opening days in Daly City, East Palo Alto and Half Moon Bay; AYSO soccer registration days in San Mateo, Belmont, Redwood Shores, and San Bruno; earth day events at the Marine Sciences Institute, San Pedro Valley Park, Woodside Environmental Day, and Coyote Point Park; park opening events include the Centennial Trail and the new Orange Park recreation center in South San Francisco; farmers markets in Millbrae, San Mateo, Redwood City, Pacifica, Half Moon Bay, Belmont, Burlingame, San Carlos, and Menlo Park; the Foster City Art and Wine festival; the Menlo Park Kite Day; the Millbrae Showcase for the Arts; the Redwood City Pet Parade; the Half Moon Bay Rock the Block, Rock the Rink, and Dream Machines days; the Filoli flower show; Hometown Days in San Carlos; Al Julian Track Meet in East Palo Alto; the Burlingame Green Fair and Burlingame’s Day on the Green; Hillsborough Garden Club; the entrances to Edgewood Park and Sawyer Camp trail; Vista Park in San Mateo; Caltrain and BART stations.

·          We conducted a robust email campaign, including getting emails sent out to members with the organizations such as Sierra Club, Committee for Green Foothills, Greenbelt Alliance, Redwood Youth Soccer League, Redwood City Mothers Club, Palo Alto-Menlo Park Mothers Club, Coastside Mothers Club, San Mateo Mothers Club, Pacificans Care, Fogfest Committee, Burlingame Youth Baseball Association, Coyotes Lacrosse, Friends of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, Friends of Edgewood Park, San Carlos Green Taskforce, various equestrian groups, Coyote Point Yacht Club, San Andreas Youth Soccer, and many many many people’s personal network of contacts.

Some folks we would like to thank individually:

Campaign Steering Committee

Julia Bott, Don Horsley, Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, Lennie Roberts, Jim Skeels, Greg Cochran, and Holly Van Houten

Campaign Fundraising Committee

Don Horsley, Lennie Roberts, Al and Jo Schreck, Mary Anne Sayler, Suzi King, Linda Liebes, Ron and Linda Weaver, Zoe Kersteen-Tucker

Media/Letter writers

Charles Marsala, Anne Moser, Linda Liebes, Bill Lane, Rich Gordon, Adrienne Tissier, Rose Jacobs Gibson, Drew Shell, Bern Smith, Heidi Schell, Mike Ervin, Greg Cochran, Linda Asbury, Leland Yee, Wayne Lee, Marian Kong, Mike Stallings, Jack Pastor, Dave Pine, Don Horsley, Linda Koelling, Michele Beasley, Merrill Bobele, Patricia Boyle, Sabrina Brennan, Howard Girdlestone, Terry Nagel, Barry Parr, Paul Seto, Gina Papan, Robert G. Gottschalk

Community Presentations

Rich Gordon, Adrienne Tissier, Julia Bott, Holly Van Houten, Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, Don Horsley, Greg Cochran, Marge Colapietro, Gael Erickson, George Brunson, Roz Koo, Meda Okelo, Mike Wride, Drew Shell, Al Teglia, Jack Pastor, Mike Stallings, Onnolee Trapp, Marilyn Walter, Georgia Stigall, Jim Skeels, Walt Shjeflo, Shirley Carlson, Corinne Centeno, Charles Marsala, Ken Rhoads, Charlie Dreschler, Joe La Mariana, Bonnie McClure, Pete McCloskey, Barbara George, Carole Groom

Community Tabling and Outreach

Bonnie McClure, Sharon Hom, Pamela Noyer, Bill Korbholz, Tom Pressburger, Peter Alley and Carolyn Strange, Christine Hertzog, Denise Dowsett, Susan Russell, Marilyn Walter, Bev Lipman, Gael Erickson, Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, Mike Blandino, Connie Servier, Mike Stallings, Sharon Ranals, Judy Bush, Michael Cooney, Ron and Linda Weaver, Heidi Schell, Drew Shell, Hertha Harrington, April Vargas, Wendee Crofoot, Julia Bott, Meda Okelo, Marcia Perez, Mary Anne Sayler, Sam Hertzberg, Cecily Harris, Don Horsley, Victoria Laprocina and Tony Soprano Van Houten, Kelly Mitter, Juda Tolmasoff, Linda Liebes, Elizabeth Lasensky, Patty Boyle, Melissa Hippard, Margaret MacNiven, Heidi Schell, Pam Frisella, Linda Koelling, Michelle Beasley, Don Berry, Chris Beth, Joseph Carlevaris, Curt Riffle, Barb Erny, Marylue Timpson, Joel Farbstein, John Kolbisen, Margaret Kujiraoka, Judi Mosqueda, August Murphy, Prudencia Nelson, Heidi and Greg Pierce, Rolito Recio, Cynthia Scheurs, Jo Schreck, Daren Stewart, Georgia Stigall, Louise Tully, Donna Colson, John Shield, Hank Sauer, Joe LaMariana, Pedro Diaz, Erin Tormey, Jason Garcia, Prudencia Nelson, Michael Lindeburg, Bill Michealis, Arlene Stucky, Jessica Aloft, Jonathan Gervais, Don Pugh, Fentress Hall.

Phone Banking

Thanks to the IBEW for loan of the hall. Volunteers included Jerry Hill, Gina Papan, Margaret Marshall, John Ward, Marge Colapietro, Paul Seto, Kelly Fergusson, Lennie Roberts, Don Horsley, Gary Parma, Pamela Noyer, April Vargas, Victoria Laprocina, Juda Tolmasoff, Jeff Segall, Tom Jordan, Bill and Kathy Korbholz, Nancy Arbuckle, Jack Pastor, Fred Baer, Sharon Hom, Jim Blanchard, Jonathan Gervais, Rich Bortoli, Teresa Proano, Clifford Robbins, Karen Wight, Medo Okelo, Marcia Perez, Julia Bott.

Administrative Help

Students from Carlmont High School, Marilyn Walter, Ron and Linda Weaver, Linda and Sid Liebes, Susan Peterson, Kelly Mitter, Anne Moser, Mary Anne Sayler, Marguerite Poyatos, Hertha Harrington, Georgia Stigall, Bev Lipman, and volunteers in Brisbane.

Graphics

Kathy Switky, Switky Designs

Web and Blog

Richard Zimmerman and Holly Van Houten

Consultants

Public Affairs Associates, Bryan Godbe and Associates, Ambrosino, Muir and Hansen, Holly Van Houten, and the Law Offices of Russell Miller

And last but not least, all those volunteers who did good work that we missed on this list!

More opportunities to volunteer:

Contact us at outreach@supportparks.org

Elected leaders - including candidates for the state assembly and board of supervisors - park and recreation commissioners, residents, and organizations as diverse as the League of Women Voters, San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce, Local Unions, such as AFCSME 829, and the Sierra Club have thrown their support behind this measure to fund all the parks and recreation departments in San Mateo County.

Please join your fellow elected officials and park supporters from around San Mateo County in calling absentee voters tomorrow(May 29th) afternoon and evening beginning at 4:30 pm at the IBEW Hall in San Mateo.
RSVP via Email to outreach@supportparks.org.
IBEW Hall
1701 Leslie Street
San Mateo, CA 94402
4:30pm to 7:30pm

Some recent press in support of Measure O!

Editorials:

• Menlo Park Almanac’s editorial in support of Measure O on June 1st.
• San Mateo Daily Journal endorses Measure O on May 14th:  “With gas prices at $4 a gallon and the cost of every other commodity rising at stratospheric rates, about the last thing San Mateo County residents might want to support is an additional tax. But Measure O, a sales tax increase that would add one-eighth of a penny for every dollar you spend in San Mateo County, is money well spent. It would cost the average resident $1.50 a month, not much since it’s less than a cup of coffee at a local cafe. But the benefit is paramount.”  To read the full editorial, click here.
• The Half Moon Bay Review’s editorial page came out in support of Measure O. “This may finally be the year that local parks become something other than woeful. It may, that is, if you and enough of your neighbors vote for Measure O, a ballot initiative that would add an eighth of a cent to the San Mateo County sales tax and dedicate $16 million a year to area parks and recreation needs.” To read the rest of their opinion, click here.
• Menlo Park Almanac’s editors came out supporting Measure O.  “In 2006, 55 percent of voters approved this measure, but the number fell short of the two-thirds majority it needed to pass. This time around, we urge all voters to not only support Measure O, but to make sure their friends and relatives do as well. The parks and open space areas that we are blessed with cannot run on autopilot. We must do our share, and in this instance, the price is a tiny, tiny fraction of the revenue we routinely shell out in sales taxes.”  To read the rest of the piece, click here.

Stories about Measure O:

• Daily News article:  “Officials Call Measure O crucial”
• Horace Henshaw’s article about why dog lovers should support Measure O in Pacifica.
• A related Daily News Story about the lack of funding available for parks in the City of San Mateo and a plug for Measure O.
• The Pacifica Tribune’s story about the benefits of the measure for Pacifica.
• County Supervisor Rich Gordon’s guest opinion piece in the Half Moon Bay Review.
• The San Francisco Chronicle’s article summarized the range of ballot measures around the Bay Area, including Measure O.
• Pacifica Tribune’s story about the importance of Measure O for keeping playing fields open for youths.

• The Daily Journal’s May 12th article about the campaign.

• Sue Lempert column’s in the Daily Journal includes a plug for Measure O in addition to an analysis of the two statewide ballot initiatives, Prop 98 and 99.

   

   

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  Marion Softky’s article about Measure O in the Menlo Park Almanac, May 12th.

   

• A guest opinion piece from Bill Lane in the Menlo Park Almanac, May 12th.

   

   

   

• A guest opinion piece from Sabrina Brennan on Coastsider.com on May 14th.

   

   

   

• A guest opinion piece from Foster City Councilwoman Linda Koelling printed in the Daily Journal.

   

   

   

 

Letters to the Editor:

• Charles Marsala’s letter to Menlo Park Almanac.
• Bern Smith’s letter to the San Francisco Chronicle “No More Shoestrings“
• Drew Shell’s letter to the Daily News “Parks Measure“
• Linda Liebes’ letter to the Menlo Park Almanac, “Hard work behind Measure O to enhance parks“
• Anne Moser’s letter to the Menlo Park Almanac, “Parks need our help on Election Day“

 

With the June 3rd voter pamphlets now arriving in people’s homes, it is time to start writing letters to the editor of our various San Mateo County papers to show community support for Measure O.  It is said that the letters section is one of the most read sections of all papers.  Have people read yours!

Want sample of Letters to the Editor?  Click here: Sample Letters to the Editor

Need information about how to submit Letters to the Editors?  Here are the email addresses and links for major papers in the County: Letters information

Be sure to check the new location for the Party on May 1.

With the voter pamplets starting to go out this week, now is the time to increase the buzz with people you know about why you support Measure O. One way to do that is to send “Dear Friend” letters or emails to people you know or groups you are involved with.

Here is a template for you to use.
The template has one localized paragraph. Here are some samples for local paragraphs appropriate for your community: specific local info

Help us spread awareness by spreading the word. If you need help, contact Holly at outreach@supportparks.org.

Please note the Celebration has been changed to May 1.  Sorry for the inconvenience

The San Mateo County Times reported on last night’s field users meeting in Burlingame where sports groups struggled to find solutions to badly needed field space, looking for ways to fund the conversion to artificial turf which would expand the hours fields could be used.  Funding from Measure O was seen as a solution to this problem being faced by communities all throughout San Mateo County:

 ”Burlingame could get another $300,000 for turf if Measure O, a 0.8 cent countywide sales tax increase for parks and recreation, passes in early June”, [Randy] Schwartz said. That money would most likely be earmarked for Bayside Park, he said. “It’s a very important issue. Bayside Park is the highest priority” on the city’s list of parks and recreation needs, Schwartz said.

For the full story, here’s the link:  http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_8793933

This week Belmont, Millbrae, and Portola Valley’s city councils all voted to endorse Measure O! Check out the calendar for upcoming Parks & Rec Commissions and City Council meeting dates.