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A group opposing Measure M — the upcoming initiative to cap executive pay at El Camino Hospital — is greatly outspending proponents of the measure, who appear to have spent little or no money promoting their cause.
Measure M proposes limiting all salaries at El Camino Hospital to no more than twice the salary of California’s governor. Gov. Jerry Brown currently makes $173,987 annually. Twice his salary — $347,974 — is still less than half of the $714,460 that El Camino’s current CEO, Tomi Ryba, is projected to make in 2013.
The Los Altos-based anti-M campaign, which goes by the name Citizens for Responsible Health Care, has collected more than $200,000 in campaign contributions and spent close to $134,000 on legal services, public affairs consultants, campaign literature and print advertisements in an effort to defeat the measure, according to campaign expenditure reports filed with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office.
The majority of the money raised came from El Camino Hospital itself, with two contributions totaling $149,000. An additional $49,000 came from two donations by the California Hospitals Committee on Issues, an organization affiliated with the California Hospitals Association that takes positions on ballot initiatives.
As of press time, the registrar’s office had no record of any money raised or spent in favor of the measure.
The Service Employees International Union-United Healthcare Workers initially supported the measure. However, a union representative told the Voice via an Oct. 11 email that the union’s priorities this election season do not include Measure M.
When asked whether the union decided to stop backing the measure after workers at El Camino regained their free health care option, which had been taken away in 2011, and which clearly angered many employees represented by the union, the union representative replied, “No. Our priorities shifted.”
Two other leading Measure M advocates did not respond to requests for comment.
According to Citizens for Responsible Health Care’s report, filed with the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Office for the period of Jan. 1 through Sept. 30, the committee has taken in $198,000 in cash contributions and $5,524 in “non-monetary” contributions, for a total of $203,524. Additionally, the committee has charged $11,270 in debts while running its campaign.
The campaign’s biggest reported expenditures were paid to Competitive Edge, a San Diego-based research and communication firm, which received payments of around $37,750 for polling and survey research; BergDavis Public Affairs, a San Francisco-based PR firm, which received payments of about $25,000 for public relations services; and Meridian Pacific, Inc., which was paid about $24,350 for campaign literature and mailings.
Other big-ticket items included website design, campaign paraphernalia and legal services.
Although a pro-M web address appears under the “Arguments for Measure M” section on the SmartVoter.org website, it seems that no site was ever built; those who click on the hyperlinked URL ElCaminoExecPayCap.org will be taken to a mostly blank GoDaddy.com page, which asks whether the visitor wishes to purchase the domain.
Anybody who needs $714,460 per year is clearly incapable of managing anything. There is a clear inverse relationship between monetary wealth and intelligence. Look around.
I just voted Yes on my ballot by mail.
Why would you pay any person such a high salery at a non profit like a hospital. Are you kiddimg me? Its way too much money. Its not even worth over $225.000 and that is way too much. Lets get real and hire somemore aids or LVN or RN. We need hands on help to tend to the pstirnts.
I am pretty sure that I will vote YES on M too. CEO salaries are out of control and we can start here at a non-profit, tax-payer funded hospital in MV.
Thank you for reporting on the details of this, MV Voice!
I keep on getting the “No on M” campaign literature in the mail and it is laughable. I am proud to have signed the petition to get Measure M on the ballot and will proudly vote “Yes” on November 6. A $714,460 annual salary for an employee of a non-profit is unconscionable.
I have been wanting to vote yes on M since I first heard about the measure, I am still unhappy about the El Camino Hospital district taking the tax payers money to buy the Los Gatos Hospital and would like to to see it sold. Let’s get rid of all of the current managers at El Camino and not over pay the new people.
Who will want to work for El Camino Hospital, earn under 400, 000 dollars? El Camino has 2 hospital, main campus has 395 beds, under 2300 persons work force. Serves the cities of, Mountain View, Sunnyvale, Los Altos and LA Hills. Lots of kids were born here, treatment seekers, ops and medical needs since 1961. The hospital has gotten awards, good press and praise. Lower pay, high costs just to live, someone who must run a world class hospital in area I think would demand high standards even from a non profit.
If you aren’t willing to pay the going rate you are not going to get a top candidate. Salaries will then be driven down for CxO level positions within El Camino, leading to attrition and again not being able to attract top candidates. The lower pay eventually trickles down to everyone, including nurses and SEIU workers.
The outrageous pay of CEOs is not a problem that is going to be solved by capping the salary at one hospital. I’m honestly shocked that there seems to be any level of support for M.
And to whom do you think the high pay trickles down to?
It’s not about “attracting a top candidate”. Every public agency (or semi-public agency) seems to believe that their executives are above average, and need above average pay. If you don’t have a cap, you end up paying more and more every year for the same quality management.
I’ll be voting yes.
Seriously, what is keeping the CEO there when he can make more elsewhere (under this ridiculous and random cap)? Then try to hire someone who is going to make the same (or less) than his/her direct reports.
Look at who is behind the ballot initiative. It’s the SEIU, acting like thugs.
Anyone know how to put a stop to all of the campaign mailers I’m getting from El Camino Hospital? They’re huge and I get more than one per day almost every single day. I don’t have a large mailbox so the postman just crams everything into the box. The amount of campaign materials I’m receiving is overwhelming!
I’m voting yes on measure M. Healthcare costs are spiraling out of control and cutting the CEO’s salary to a more reasonable, though still generous half a million dollars, seems like a perfectly acceptable way to curb those costs.
When I first read about measure M, I too thought that capping CEO pay was a good thing. But then I actually looked at some of the facts involved in the matter, and realized that the only reason we have such a great hospital (with surplus assets in the 100’s of millions of dollars) is because of its fine leadership. I like living in a community with a great hospital. If we lose the leadership, it will go down the tubes quickly. I will certainly vote NO. What a back water measure to propose in the first place.
Justin:
Does that logic apply to the banks, investment houses and auto industry as well? Astronomical salaries, disastrous results.