Borrow less, spend better, show the full bill.
A no campaign on a local bond argues the full cost, the debt already on the books and the priorities, proposition by proposition.
How do you campaign against a county or city bond election?
Use the voter information document to show the principal, estimated interest and existing debt, question the priorities proposition by proposition, and reach the property owners who will carry the cost, then turn them out. Where an entity plans to use certificates of obligation without a vote, a petition for an election can be the campaign. URSA runs these campaigns for privately funded opposing committees.
Arguments That Work Against Local Bonds
The full bill
Principal plus estimated interest, and the debt the entity already owes, from its own voter information document.
Priorities
Roads and drainage first, amenities later. Opposing the weakest propositions keeps the campaign credible.
Delivery
What happened to the projects from the last bond. Voters remember.
Debt without a vote
Certificates of obligation can be issued without an election unless voters petition. Making the entity ask the voters can be the whole fight.
The No Campaign Playbook
Read the documents
The order, the voter information document, the budget and past bond reports.
Pick the propositions
Oppose where the case is strongest, so voters can say yes to the essentials and no to the rest.
Reach property owners
Homeowners and commercial owners from parcel data, matched to vote history in Culper.
Turn out the no voters
Mail, digital, streaming and P2P, with a daily early vote scrub.
The city informs. The committee argues.
The district itself cannot campaign for or against its own measure (Texas Election Code 255.003). Campaigns on either side are run by privately funded political committees, and every piece carries the committee's disclosure.
How do you vote against a city or county bond?
Mark against on each bond proposition you oppose. Each proposition is decided separately.
What are certificates of obligation?
A form of debt Texas cities and counties can issue without a bond election, after public notice, unless enough voters petition for an election. Opponents sometimes organize that petition.
Where can I find the cost of a local bond?
In the voter information document the city or county publishes for each proposition, which includes figures such as the principal, estimated interest and existing debt.
Keep reading.
- County and Municipal BondsURSA runs campaigns for and against Texas county and city bond propositions for roads, drainage, parks and public safety, built on the ballot language, the voter information document and parcel level data.
- Passing a County or City BondThe URSA playbook for committees supporting Texas county and city bond propositions: projects by neighborhood, the voter information document, cost per home, and turnout.
- PACs and Issue CampaignsURSA runs advocacy campaigns for political committees supporting or opposing ESD, CAD, school bond and tax rate propositions: targeting, creative, media and turnout, with disclosures on every piece.
Your victory starts here.
Tell us where you are running or what is on your ballot. We will show you who decides it, what moves them, and what it costs to reach them.
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