Backers of Brown's Proposition K donated over $250,000, according to campaign finance reports. In addition, through Sept. 30, the official Yes on K Committee had spent only $13,270 of its $226,750, giving the cause even more last minute firepower.

Prop. L, meanwhile, has raised less than $100,000, including a $49,990 non-monetary donation from Clint Reilly, a real estate investor and former political consultant, who paid for signature gathering on the initiative drive. Reilly last year waged an unsuccessful run for mayor against Brown.

Prop. L would impose new limits on live-work lofts and be more restrictive on where development can take place. The mayor's measure allows for millions more sf of office to be built during the next couple of years. As a result, developers see the mayor's proposal as the kindest evil of two lessers.