Never mind that I have an unlisted home phone number.

“This is an urgent call from  DowntownArena.org,” the message said. The caller claimed “Out-of-towners” are trying to stop the arena.

“The arena will provide $157 million annually, and create 4,000 jobs. This is an exciting time in Sacramento history,” the caller said. 

“This is Michael Ault, president and CEO of the Downtown Partnership. We need your help,” the caller said. “Stop the dishonest petition collectors.”

“If you believe you’ve been deceived into signing one of these petitions, please call immediately.”

Never mind that I have an unlisted home phone number.

The organizers behind downtownarena.org, a group pressuring taxpayers for a multi-million dollar government subsidy to build the Kings a new stadium in downtown Sacramento, apparently illegally called more than 110,000 Sacramento households this weekend as part of a disinformation and intimidation campaign to dissuade residents from voting on the deal which will cost the people of Sacramento more than three-quarters of a billion dollars over the next four decades.

Well, I never… $908 million by taxpayers for an arena?

I’ve never seen anything like the tactics used by DowntownArena.org. Their desperation proves there is a huge amount of money in this deal… taxpayer money.

The city’s gross spending is exactly why the arena deal needs a vote of the people. The arena deal, led by Mayor Kevin Johnson, has suffered from a lack of public debate, dubious financial numbers from the city, along with a growing public subsidy, and last-minute legislation by Sen. President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, to let the stadium avoid a real environmental impact review.

The publicly funded arena is being supported and pushed by labor unions and local government groups:

• IBEW Local 340
• National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) of Sacramento
• Sacramento Regional Builders Exchange
• Associated General Contractors
• Building Owners & Managers Association (BOMA) of Sacramento
• Carmichael Dave & #HereWeBuy
• Greater Sacramento Urban League
• Associated Builders & Contractors (ABC) of Northern California
• Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce
• Sacramento Downtown Partnership
• Ironworkers Local 118
• Sacramento Central Labor Council
• Northern California MCA
• Associated Plumbing & Mechanical Contractors (APMC) of Sacramento
• R Street Partnership
• Midtown Business Association
• Sacramento Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
• Sacramento Asian Pacific Chamber of Commerce
• Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau

Anyone in Sacramento who received the robo-call and wants to file a complaint, can call the Public Utilities Commission at 1-800-649-7570, or online at https://appsssl.cpuc.ca.gov/cpucapplication/

Last Thursday, the Bee featured a story under the headline, “PAC pushes Sacramento arena vote but won’t say where it is getting money.” The story claimed that Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods, an Orange County-based political action committee, had been “working alongside a group of Sacramento activists gathering signatures for a ballot measure that would require voters to approve public subsidies for sports facilities.” According to the Bee’s version of events, the group wouldn’t disclose its funding.

The story of an out-of-town PAC secretly bankrolling the arena measure stirred hundreds of comments on the Bee’s website. It also spawned a formal complaint with the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission. There’s just one problem: It’s completely false, according to people close to the story.

“The truth is the PAC has $144.50 in the bank and has done absolutely nothing more than lend its name to a press release in support of the Arena vote petition drive,” said James V. Lacy, the principal officer of Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods, who also serves as publisher of California Political Review. “The Bee has manufactured this story in a deliberate effort to undermine the public’s right to vote on the arena deal.”

Thundering about campaign donations

The Bee asked the political action committee to release its donors since July 1, a move that isn’t required by state or federal law. The group declined to share such financial information with a newspaper that, it believes, has used its news and editorial pages to back the arena deal. There’s also a reason why the group hasn’t released its list of July donations — none exist.

“The PAC can’t release a list of donors because we haven’t received any donations since July 1,” Lacy said.

The organization’s claims are independently confirmed by the group’s latest campaign finance statement, which showed less than $150 in cash on hand. During the past six months, the political action committee has spent just $426 in bank fees and a nominal consulting fee.

“Taxpayers for Safer Neighborhoods hasn’t spent a dime on the Sacramento arena campaign,” Lacy said. “The PAC has not signed contracts for any petition circulation, has not circulated any petitions or raised any funds for that purpose.”

Lacy said that the group’s involvement in the arena campaign has been limited to one press release. When asked why the group issued the release, Lacy said, “Anytime taxpayers are the victims of an insider deal, we feel compelled to speak out.”

That hasn’t stopped arena supporters from using the Bee’s misleading story for its political advantage. On Tuesday, Joshua Wood, the principal officer of the DowntownArena.org, filed a formal complaint with the FPPC. The complaint is primarily based on the Bee’s articles.

Editors Note: Hrabe is research assistant for Jim Lacy’s upcoming book, “Taxifornia, How Liberals are Bankrupting California.”