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Election 2011: College bond measure donors named

by Dave Boyce

In the waning weeks of the 2011 fall election season, and during the week after the Nov. 8 election, 22 corporate or institutional donors gave a total of $68,500 to a campaign for passage of a bond measure for local community colleges, including Canada College in Woodside.

As required by law, the campaign committee, Citizens for Support of Community Colleges in San Mateo County, filed campaign finance reports identifying the donors and the amounts given to Measure H, a $564 million bond measure for the San Mateo County Community College District. The measure failed to get the 55 percent voter approval required for passage.

The reports include summary reports at about 12 weeks and two weeks before an election, and individual reports in the last two weeks for donations of $1,000 or more. Semi-annual reports in January and July cover contributions made during the previous six months.

Late donations

Reports for the last two weeks before the Nov. 8 election show four donations of $1,000: American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees in Oakland; BKF Engineers in Redwood City; Shannon-Leigh Associates, a sign-maker in San Leandro; and Artik Art & Architecture in San Jose. Testing Engineers Inc. in San Leandro gave $1,500.

Four corporations gave $2,500: Bayview Painting Construction in Burlingame; GRD Energy Inc. in Corte Madera; tBP Architecture in Concord; and Atlas Pellizzari Electric Inc. in Redwood City.

Six donors gave $5,000: Northern California Carpenters Regional Council Local 217 in Foster City; Netronix Integration Inc. in San Jose; International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 617 in San Mateo; John Plane Construction Inc. in Brisbane; Kwan Henmi Architecture/Planning in San Francisco; and gkkworks, an architecture firm in Sacramento.

In the week following the election, reports show $1,500 contributions from two donors: Verde Design Inc. in Santa Clara; and WRNS Studio, an architectural firm in San Francisco.

Three donors gave $2,500: Vanir Construction Management Inc. in Sacramento; Corlett, Skaer & DeVoto Architects Inc. in Santa Clara; and PAE Consulting Engineers Inc. in San Francisco.

Webcor Construction Management Inc. in Alameda gave $5,000, and Program Management Integration Inc. in Emeryville gave $7,500, the report shows.

Early donations

In January 2011, the campaign committee reported a donation of $131,823 from itself — contributions left over from a successful 2010 campaign for a $34 parcel tax, committee chair James Keller told the Almanac.

In the three months leading up to the election, but before the last filing deadline on Oct. 22, corporate donors gave $210,000, records show.

Four donors gave $1,500: AFSCME in San Francisco and Oakland; Alfa Tech, a construction management firm in San Jose; LPAS, an architectural firm in Sacramento; and Sugimura, Finny Architect in San Jose.

The Building & Construction Trades Council in Foster City, and BKF Engineers in Redwood City gave $1,000. The Plumbers, Steamfitters, Refrigeration Fitters Local 467 in Burlingame gave $2,000.

Seven donors gave $2,500: CSW|ST2, a civil engineering firm in Novato; AEDIS Architecture & Planning in San Jose; Denali Group, an environmental consultant in Pleasant Hill; GRD Energy Inc. in Corte Madera; Flad & Associates, an architectural firm in San Francisco; Q Builders in Palo Alto; and Blach Construction in Santa Clara.

Eight donors gave $5,000: Advance Soil Technology in San Jose; Pankow Special Projects LP, a builder in Pasadena; Keenan & Associates, an insurance broker in Torrance; Intermountain Electric Company in San Carlos; Steinberg Architects in San Jose; Allana+Buick+Bers, an architectural firm in Palo Alto; Noll & Tam Architects and Planners in Berkeley; and CSI Inc. in Pacifica.

Chevron Corp. in Concord gave $7,500, and Design Acquisition Corp. in Fremont gave $10,000.

Of the four largest donors, three gave $25,000 each: Hensel Phelps Construction Company in San Jose, McCarthy Building Companies Inc. in St. Louis, and Swinerton Inc., a construction management firm in San Francisco. Robert A. Bothman Inc., a builder in San Jose, gave $50,000.