Measure A gets "plowed under"

From today's Mercury News, November 9, 2006
Land-preservation initiative falls flat
LONG DOCUMENT TOUGH TO DIGEST; EARLY SUPPORT WANES AT POLLS
By Truong Phuoc Khánh

"(text)...Measure A, a land-use initiative that took 18 pages to explain itself, was voted down 51 to 49 percent. It would have reduced the number of parcels that can be developed on ranch lands and hillsides spread across 400,000 acres, or about half of the land in Santa Clara County.
(text)....The list of Measure A backers read like a Silicon Valley ``Who's Who,'' including no fewer than three former San Jose mayors.
Measure A's opponents, on the other hand, were farmers, ranchers and developers who were heavily outnumbered, given that only 6 percent of the county's 1.7 million residents live in rural areas of Santa Clara County.
On Wednesday, some environmentalists were baffled that the numbers turned against them. A poll conducted days before the election found the measure had strong support among likely voters.

Alas, a long, complicated initiative full of planning jargon, written by a retired Stanford University law professor, might not have helped.
``There were many voters who had trouble digesting the initiative,'' Drekmeier admitted.
The No on Measure A group, backed by the Santa Clara County Farm Bureau, the Santa Clara County Cattlemen's Association, county supervisors Gage and Pete McHugh and Sheriff Laurie Smith, said the measure would devalue properties and hurt farmers.
That message resonated with voters, said Vince Garrod, whose family owns 120 acres, 80 of which are in unincorporated county land. He compared his real estate to a bank account from which he might want to make a withdrawal at some point. ....(text)"



We won. The land-grab initiative got "plowed under", as the Gilroy Dispatched described the election results.

A 6% rural minority, a statistic revealed for the first time by the Mercury News, went up against unbelievable odds, and won.

Most area papers, including the slanted Mercury News endorsed Measure A ...the Silicon Valley Leadership Group representing local high tech companies and local universities influentially endorsed Measure A .... League of Women Voters, past and present city and county officials, along with a slew of Democrats, all endorsed Measure A ... and the polls were against us from the beginning. But we did it. Against all odds, we did it.

It was uncomfortably close, 51%-49%. This entire campaign has been surreal, never realized how deeply corrupt the social constructs around us have become. The press was a real eye-opener, very slanted, keenly conspicuous in promoting agenda. Reading the morning newspaper will never be the same. And what a difference a day makes. In press statements, Peter Drekmeier is no longer describing farmers as puppets of other interests (he now has to work with the Farm Bureau on future projects.) And alas! The Mercury News, for the first time today, doesn't focus on the campaign funds of the opposition. GASP! What happened at the Mercury?

We definitely need more free-thinking in our society, less unreasoned devotion to party lines. We need more questions, more analysis, more respect for the Law of Unintended Consequences. The Democrat endorsers and environmentalists sponsors of Measure A have now proven themselves elitist/ condescending, with complete disregard of a minority group's needs and rights. This region has gone into hyper-privilege from extreme housing costs and high tech salaries. Very few in this region now have any realistic basis, or point of reference, for the diversity of others and their economic differences. And the problem willonlyt get worse. As our population accelerates, desperate "sanctimonious" land grabs will become more bold, more "justified," more successful. It definitely does not bode well for the future of any group in the minority. Not well at all.



[Note: the blog link in the previous post disclosing the funding for the People for Nature and Land (Measure A) campaign does not seem to be viable any more. Another aspect of blogs is the transience and manipulation of disclosures. What a shame. After considerable rummaging on line yesterday, the disclosure information was again located. Public campaign finance statements for PLAN (as well as disclosures for the No campaign)can be found at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters at: http://www.netfile.com/agency/scc/