2023 New Year and 2022 Review

In preparation for the 2022 primaries and general election, FM3 Research worked on more than 170 campaigns across 15 states. Our team is proud to have been a part of all the successes listed below and to have collaborated with committed and hard-working campaigns across the country.

SUCCESSFUL STATEWIDE BALLOT MEASURES

FM3 conducted research for 15 statewide measures across nine states. Our work contributed to the passage of a range of measure types, including those geared toward public health and safety, $4.25 billion in environmental bonds, and more—including the following:

• • California voters approved Proposition 31 to uphold Senate Bill 793, which is now in effect banning the sale of flavored tobacco products in the state.
  • Colorado voters approved Proposition 122, an initiative to establish a therapeutic framework for the use of promising psychedelic medicines.
  • Oregon voters approved Measure 114, a gun-responsibility measure.
  • Missouri voters approved Amendment 3, making it the 21st state (including Washington DC) to legalize marijuana for adults.
  • New York voters approved Proposal 1, which will provide $4.2 billion in funding for environmental priorities including climate change mitigation, outdoor recreation, land conservation, and water quality.
  • Rhode Island voters approved Question 3, providing $50 million in funding for environmental and recreational purposes including water quality investments, open space conservation, and forest protection.
  • California voters rejected Proposition 27, which if approved would have required Native American tribes to give up their sovereignty to participate in online sports betting and created more opportunities for underage gambling.
  • Oregon voters approved Measure 112 to remove slavery as punishment for crime from the constitution.

SUCCESSFUL LOCAL BALLOT MEASURES

Tax Measures

FM3 helped more than 50 local governments across California win voter approval to fund needed to support important services for citizens. These included:

• Six transient occupancy tax measures in the cities of Alameda, Imperial Beach, Paso Robles, and Sacramento, as well as Humboldt County and Placer County
• Six cannabis tax measures in the cities of El Segundo, Hermosa Beach, Montclair, South Lake Tahoe, Tulare, as well as Los Angeles County
• Three business tax/fee measures in the cities of Culver City, Palo Alto, and Pico Rivera
• Two parcel tax measures, one for the City of Oakland and another for the Oakland Unified School District
• Two utility user taxes in the cities of Carson and Hercules
• A tax on single-use, disposable cups in Santa Cruz County

We also helped 16 California municipalities pass general sales tax measures, including Fresno County (Fresno Chaffee Zoo), Kern County, and the cities of:

Additionally, FM3 helped pass property taxes in Lane County, Oregon and Whatcom County, Washington.

School Funding Measures

In 2022, FM3 helped raise $11.8 billion in capital funding for 13 school districts across the state of California. This includes work we did to help the Los Angeles Community College District pass a $5.3 billion bond, the largest bond ever passed by any school district in the country. Additionally, we are proud to have worked on successful bond measure campaigns in the following districts:

Other Local Funding Measures

Beyond school bonds, FM3’s research also helped to pass a variety of other local funding measures in California, Texas, and Utah. These include:

• $23 million to enable the Marin County Open Space District (California) acquire and forever protect the “Martha Property” on the Tiburon Peninsula;
• $85 million for parks and recreation in Salt Lake City, Utah;
• $19.15 million to fund water treatment in St. Helena, California;
• $41 annual parcel tax for library services in Pasadena, California; and
• A total of 11 bonds equaling nearly $1.7 billion in Harris County and Houston, Texas, including two parks and recreation bonds, as well as several others related to public health and safety, transportation, city systems and buildings, and more.

Other Measures

FM3 worked on several non-revenue-related local ballot measures during the past election cycle. Some noteworthy accomplishments include:

• • Voters in the City of Costa Mesa approved Measure K by just 22 votes. Among other outcomes, the passage of this neighborhood revitalization plan will preserve single-family and other residential neighborhoods while also creating the opportunity for more affordable housing to be built in Costa Mesa.
  • Sacramento County voters approved Measure D repealing Article 34, allowing the County to develop and fund more affordable housing for low-income people and families.
  • Voters in several Long Island, New York communities approved measures to create funding for affordable housing.
  • Voters in the City of Long Beach approved Measure E to establish a police oversight commission in the city to modify police practices and policies. Additionally, voters approved Charter Amendments to consolidate the city’s utilities and align the City’s elections with the state’s.
  • Voters in the City of Portland approved Measure 26-228, a package of reforms that will change the city’s election system and form of government.
  • Jackson County, Oregon voters rejected Measure 15-203, which if passed would have prevented the use of psilocybin therapy to treat health conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, and anxiety within certain areas of the county.
  • Washington County, Oregon voters rejected Measure 34-314, which sought to repeal the county ban on flavored nicotine products.

Successful Candidate Races

FM3 conducted research for more than 60 candidate races across six states, ranging from local city council and mayoral races to state and national legislative races. Notably, our research helped elect Karen Bass – the first woman to become Mayor of Los Angeles – in a closely fought race against billionaire developer Rick Caruso, who ran the most expensive campaign in the city’s history. Our research for an independent expenditure campaign helped Cavalier Johnson become the first Black candidate to be elected mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin in a special election that occurred in April.

In Long Beach, California, the FM3 team helped Rex Richardson become the first Black person and first resident of North Long Beach in history elected to serve as Mayor. Additionally, our work helped Matt Mahan win his Mayoral election in the City of San Jose, California. In Santa Clara County, California, we helped in the reelection of District Attorney Jeff Rosen* for a fourth term.

Our firm also conducted research that helped two candidates win election to the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors: Hilda Solis won her reelection outright in the June primary, and Lindsey Horvath won her election in November. Additionally, we assisted Tim McOsker and Katy Yaroslavsky in their November elections to win seats on the Los Angeles City Council. In San Luis Obispo County, FM3’s research helped to re-elect Bruce Gibson to the County Board of Supervisors by just 13 votes, as well as elect for the first time Dawn Ortiz-Legg and Jimmy Paulding. Our work also helped to elect Joel Engardio to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. In San Diego County, we helped re-elect Nathan Fletcher to the Board of Supervisors.

Other local races the FM3 Research team helped win include city council races for Bien Doan in San Jose, Ronnie De Anda in Merced, and Natalie Meeks and Natalie Rubaclava in Anaheim.

FM3 helped win eight California State Legislative races in November, maintaining Democrats’ supermajority in the Legislature. We worked on races for the following candidates:

Nationally, we continued our decades-long work for U.S. Senator Patty Murray (Washington), who was reelected to a sixth term. Additionally, our team helped nine other Democrats win election to Congress, including:

Our work also helped elect six representatives to the Oregon State Legislature: Tom Andersen*, Annessa Hartman*, Zach Hudson*, John Lively, Anthony Medina*, and Ricki Ruiz. Finally, our work helped elect three representatives to the Idaho State Legislature: Rick Just*, James Ruchti*, and Ron Taylor*.

*FM3 worked for an independent expenditure campaign.