SANTA CRUZ >> With campaign finance disclosure forms recently submitted for the upcoming November election in the city of Santa Cruz, filings show a stark difference in contributions made to the campaigns for and against Measure Z or the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax with the opposition campaign raising $850,000 as of the end of September.

Measure Z was placed on the November ballot by the Santa Cruz City Council at its June 25 meeting. If passed with a simple majority vote by city residents, the general excise tax of two cents per fluid ounce would be paid by distributors of sugar-sweetened beverages in the city. The tax is estimated to generate about $1.3 million annually for the city’s general fund and would include a small business exemption for those with less than $500,000 in gross annual revenues.

According to the impartial analysis of Measure Z on the city’s website, a seven-member community oversight panel, consisting of members from sectors such as health care, dental, wellness, education and youth organizations would also be established if the initiative were to pass in November to recommend the use of the revenue brought in by the tax with the intention of promoting “community health & wellness and for general revenue purposes.”

Some beverages would be exempt from the tax such as beverages containing less than 40 calories per 12 fluid ounces of beverage, milk products, drinks with natural sweeteners such as honey, baby formula, beverages intended for medical use or as a meal replacement and alcoholic drinks.

The campaign opposing the tax, called Campaign for an Affordable Santa Cruz, is sponsored by the American Beverage Association Ad committee’s top funders, which includes corporations such as The Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo and Affiliated Entities, and Keurig Dr Pepper.

According to the 460 form filed by Campaign for an Affordable Santa Cruz, the campaign has raised $850,000 so far with the Keurig Dr. Pepper contributing $145,180 in the filing period. Pepsico and Affiliated Entities gave the campaign $298,775 and Red Bull North America gave $14,195. The largest contributor to the “No on Z” campaign was the Coca-Cola Company, which gave $391,850 to the campaign.

According to the recent filing, the No on Z campaign has reported total expenditures of about $765,000 so far with some of the largest payments made to law firms and political research and consulting firms such as the Washington D.C. based Dewey Square Group, which the campaign paid about $90,000 and Arlington, Va. based AI-powered audience intelligence platform called Tunnl, which the No on Z campaign paid $135,000 for polling and survey research.

The campaign supporting the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax, called Yes on Measure Z for a Safe and Healthy Santa Cruz, has raised about $16,000 so far, or about $834,000 less than its opponents, according to the latest filing.

The majority of the contributions made to campaign supporting measure Z are under $500 and come from individuals based in Santa Cruz County. Some of the largest contributions to campaign were given by Dientes Community Dental Care, which gave the “Yes on Z” campaign $2,500 and Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson for Santa Cruz City Council District Three, which gave $2,000 to the campaign alongside Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley who gave $1,000.

The Yes on Measure Z for a Safe and Healthy Santa Cruz campaign has spent more money than it has received with a total of about $34,000 in expenditures as of the latest filing with the largest payment going to Orinda-based public relations and communications firm Team CivX, of which the Yes on Z campaign has an outstanding balance total of about $26,000.

To read the latest campaign finance disclosure forms for the Measure Z race, visit cityofsantacruz.com.