Effort to defeat Jerry Brown's Prop. 30 gains millions of dollars

When Charles Munger Jr., the Stanford physicist and GOP activist, poured $22 million into a political campaign account in recent weeks, it was unclear whether the money would be used to boost Proposition 32 or go after Gov. Jerry Brown’s tax plan, Proposition 30.

The answer, it appears, is both.

Munger’s money was given to a PAC controlled by the Small Business Action Committee, which is paying for TV ads for Proposition 32, the paycheck deduction measure opposed by labor unions. On Thursday afternoon, the PAC moved more than $2.3 million to another committee focused on defeating Proposition 30.

The money comes as Brown’s plan to boost levies on upper incomes and state sales faces attacks from two sides -- from the formal No on 30 campaign and from backers of another tax plan, Proposition 38, financed by Munger's sister Molly Munger.

Polls show Proposition 30 clinging to a narrow lead, but those surveys were taken before the ads against Brown’s proposal began to air.

The infusion of cash has led the governor, who has been absent from the campaign trail for several weeks, to increase his fundraising efforts in recent days. Brown has not held a campaign event since Aug. 30.

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-- Anthony York in Sacramento