Follow the H8te Money…to Hawaii

Executive Summary:  Breakdown of Prop 8 contributions nationally, from California, and Hawaii – including top donors and the impact of religion on donations.

Yesterday, I discovered a utility from the L.A. Times that tracks donations for or against Prop H8te, as reported by the California Secretary of State.  Proposition 8 is a ballot initiative banning gay marriage in California that went into effect November 5 and that I mentioned earlier.  In a moment of inspiration, I thought I’d do some investigating.  Many thanks to Kenton Chang for his help in computing some of these numbers.

Let me preface my comments by saying that everyone has the right to their own opinions and to donate to any (legal) cause they choose.  It is also my right to write and opine about them exercising that right.

Prop 8ers (who want marriage limited to between a man and woman)

Nationally, Prop 8ers raised $36,122,538.  The largest single contribution of $1,400,000 came from the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization in Connectictut; this was the largest donation to either side.  Prop 8ers got 5,784,300 votes (per CNN), enough to amend the California constitution.

Non-H8ters (who opposed second-class status for same-sex partners)

Nationally, Non-H8ters raised $38,432,873.  Their largest contributions of $1,352,848 and $1,316,974 were from the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Services Center and the California Teachers’ Association Issues PAC, respectively.   They got 5,302,073 votes against passage (per CNN), but not enough.

California

In California itself, 57,196 people donated to either side, with the smallest donation coming in at just $4.

Hawaii

Locally, 623 of my fellow residents donated $235,808 to advocate on this issue. 222 were Prop 8ers and 101 were Anti-H8ters. Anti-H8ters’ donations totalled $43,835 (18.6%), while the remaining $191,973 (81.4%) came from Prop 8ers.  Here are some Hawaii tidbits:

• The largest Hawaii donation of $20,000 came from Board of Education member Kim Coco Iwamoto and accounted for 45.6% of all Anti-H8ter money.  My hero for the week.
• Two members of the Watanabe family (of Watanabe Floral) donated $5,100 to the Prop 8er cause. Guess that’s one local business I will exempt from my “support local” efforts.

From the Prop 8er side:

• Aiea (96701): of 16 contributions, 15 (93.8%) were from Prop 8ers whose $20,600 was 99% of district donations.
• Ewa Beach (96706):  all 14 contributions ($9,220 total) were from Prop 8ers.
• Laie (96762):  all 18 contributions ($14,980) were from Prop 8ers.
• Pearl City (96782):  of 26 contributions, 23 (88.5%) were from Prop 8ers whose $10,190 was 96.2% of district donations.  State Rep. Blake Oshiro and two others were the only open minds in that district.
• Waipahu (96797):  all 15 contributions ($9,850) were from Prop 8ers.

From the Anti-H8ter side:

• Honolulu (96815):  all 12 contributions ($2,850) were from Anti-H8ters. Thank goodness! They are my favorite ZIP code.
• Honolulu (96816): of 16 contributions, 15 (93.8%) were from Anti-H8ters whose $1,600 was 94.1% of donations. My second favorite district.

Religion

With protests of Mormon temples mounting because Anti-H8ters blame them for helping to pass Prop 8, I thought that was an angle worth exploring.  Thankfully, people in Hawaii have been more respectful.  I have family members (including my sister), friends, and co-workers who are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon Church), so I have nothing against them, their church, or their beliefs.

Of the 643 donations from Utah, with its 60.8% Mormon population, the largest was $1,010,000 from Bruce Bastian – interestingly enough, opposing Prop 8.  The smallest donation was for $25.   With the exception of that top donation, the rest of the top 25 contributors, ranging from $10,000 to $1,000,000, were in support of Prop 8.

In Hawaii, 15 donations (6.8% of all Prop 8ers) that totalled $15,080 (7.9% of all Hawaii Prop 8er money) came from Mormon-affiliated entities and areas.  While these numbers aren’t small enough to be ignored, they aren’t large enough to indicate the Mormon church advocated more than any other religious organization.

Again, while I vehemently disagree with the outcome of this issue during the election, I accept it because a clear majority (52.3%) of California voters approved it.  But it is interesting to see all the money that flowed in and how the side with the most money lost in the end.

Mahalo!

Tagged as: la times, mormon, prop 8, prop h8te