The million-dollar water campaign

AUSTIN — A political-style campaign projected to leverage upward of $1 million to sway voter approval for a ballot proposition to fund new water projects is about to debut across Texas.

Lawmakers in the past legislative session agreed to tap $2 billion from the state's rainy day fund in what some called a historic effort to address long-neglected state water needs.

The catch: Texas voters have the final say on whether to use the state's piggy bank to pay for water infrastructure projects. The water measure is labeled Proposition 6 on the ballot and is one of 10 constitutional amendments that Texans will decide on Nov. 5.

Supporters are laying the groundwork for an aggressive effort to educate voters and drown out opposition with roughly one month before early voting starts. A coalition of political action committees and business groups are leading the push.

The strategy will be bankrolled by a combination of those forces. A political action committee named Water Texas created specifically for the campaign is being led by House Speaker Joe Straus of San Antonio and Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland.

Like any high-powered campaign, the political playbook for the water proposition is set to include TV and radio ads, direct mailers, phone banks, op-ed pieces and stumplike speeches, and meetings with local leaders. A heavy dose of web and social media activity is also part of the formula.

In all, supporters are gearing for a potential multimillion-dollar campaign.

“We can't risk losing this election. It's too important for the future of the state,” said Bill Hammond, president and CEO of the Texas Association of Business, one of a number of groups backing the strategy. “This is just like any candidate who has to go out there and do the blocking and tackling to make sure they win an election.”

Early building blocks of the campaign already are taking shape.

House leaders have lined up more than 150 lawmakers from both chambers to be part of a so-called leadership team to spread the gospel of Proposition 6 at the local level. Rep. Lyle Larson, R-San Antonio, will hit the water circuit Tuesday when he joins SAWS President Robert Puente to talk up the measure at St. Mary's University.

Other lawmakers are planning to zigzag across the state. The effort is expected to include Gov. Rick Perry and Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst.

Straus already is hitting the road to sell the plan in person. Last week, he held court on the water measure with local leaders in drought-plagued Amarillo. He'll do the same in Dallas and Houston soon and will spend the next six weeks meeting with elected officials and business leaders throughout Texas to “highlight the importance of securing a long-term water supply for cities, industry and farmers.”

“There is broad support among Texans for ensuring a reliable water supply for our children and grandchildren,” Straus said, “and I am confident that Water Texas will succeed in our effort to pass Proposition 6 in November.”

The campaign-style tactics are not uncommon for high-profile ballot propositions. In 2005, a combination of political groups spent a combined total of more than $1.2 million over a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

The water measure is nowhere near as controversial. But it has drummed up opposition from fiscal conservatives, who chastised lawmakers during the regular session for agreeing to tap the state's rainy day fund to pay for water projects. They also argue that using the $2 billion in a constitutionally dedicated fund allows supporters to skirt having the money count against a state spending cap, which conservatives have promised to protect.

As a result, a slew of grass-roots groups have pledged to oppose the measure, calling it the equivalent of a water slush fund. They're working to create a statewide network.

“The coalition hasn't gelled yet, but I guarantee you we'll have a coalition,” said Linda Curtis, director of Independent Texans, a Bastrop-based grass-roots group that recently released a report critical of Proposition 6 called the “Water Heist Amendment.”

A May poll from Texas A&M University suggested that Texans will support the water plan, which would create a revolving, low-interest loan program to finance water supply projects over the next half century.

House leaders who crafted the legislation say the $2 billion capitalization could finance the state's entire long-range water plan, which identifies 562 projects needed to satisfy the demands of a growing population during the next 50 years. It's being pitched as a crucial component to keep the state's economic engine humming long into the future.

Critics say the plan still doesn't entirely solve the state's water problems.

“It's kind of easy to throw money at the issue when you got money, as opposed to taking a hard look at fundamental underlying policies that restrict the supply of water where it's needed,” said Chuck DeVore, vice president of policy at the Texas Public Policy Foundation.

Supporters of the water measure expect the thrust of media buys to begin airing around the state in the next couple of weeks, coinciding with the start of early voting Oct. 21. The first salvo from the water groups is actually scheduled to pop up by the end of this month: a billboard on Interstate 35 in Austin, paid for by the Texas Farm Bureau, which is planning to spend money on a variety of other outreach efforts supporting Proposition 6.

Part of the challenge for supporters will be tailoring the message to different regions of the state, said Mark Lehman, vice president of governmental affairs for the Texas Association of Realtors, which is getting ready to pump big dollars behind the push.

“You're looking at a different campaign for every single water district, and taking that kind of message to the voters does cost a lot of money,” Lehman said. “We're putting our money were our mouth is.”