Menlo Park Measure P Money: No Side Raises $374,000, Yes Side Leans on Loans From Downtown Owners

Money is pouring into both sides of Menlo Park’s Measure P, the citizen initiative that would require a public vote before the city sells or significantly changes any of its eight downtown parking lots, including three where the city has sought housing proposals.

The No side

Menlo Park Neighbors and Small Business Owners for Affordable Homes has raised $374,201 from more than 200 donations, plus $22,349 in nonmonetary contributions, according to filings reported by the Palo Alto Daily Post. Donors include campaign co-founder Karen Frances Grove ($50,085), Meta product director Michael Levinson ($25,000) and data analyst Andrew Baratz Ehrich ($10,100). The campaigns of Rep. Sam Liccardo and Assemblyman Marc Berman gave $2,500 and $5,000. Groups giving included Karen Frances Grove’s Action Fund ($20,000), the Non-Profit Housing Association’s action fund committee ($10,000) and MidPen Housing ($5,000).

An earlier filing covered by The Almanac listed top No donors including John Matthew Sobrato of the Sobrato Organization and former OpenAI executive Robert McGrew.

The Yes side

Save Downtown Menlo, largely organized by downtown business and property owners, has received $129,524 from more than 270 donations, plus $87,000 in loans. Alex Beltramo loaned $49,502 and Draeger’s Supermarkets loaned $45,033. Individual donors include James Boettcher ($6,417) and Nadine Flueger ($6,139), and two businesses, Bacciocco Enterprises and Elf Realty, gave $2,000 each. The Almanac also listed Mickles Enterprises, which represents a downtown property owner, among top Yes donors.

What’s at stake

Supporters say building on the lots would hurt customer access and foot traffic. Opponents say the measure would put the city’s state housing goals at risk and take land-use decisions away from elected officials. For the full measure and the council races, see our Measure P explainer and our council race guide.

How to vote

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3. Polls and vote centers close at 8 p.m., and mailed ballots must be postmarked by Election Day and arrive within seven days. You can check your registration and ballot status at sos.ca.gov/elections. California lets you register and vote the same day at a vote center.