On behalf of 80-plus volunteers from our grassroots group, Campaign to Protect San Benito, we’d like to send a huge “THANK YOU!” to the voters of San Benito County. With your help, we were able to collect 4,092 petition signatures and put our citizens’ initiative, Let Voters Decide How San Benito County Grows, on the Nov. 8 ballot.
A few days ago, the County Elections Office certified our initiative petition. (We needed 2,060 valid signatures.) The impetus for our citizen’s initiative is the declining quality of life of residents in our county. Residents are reminded daily that the supervisors’ decisions about growth are impacting their lives. They are reminded by the traffic congestion, potholed roads, overcrowded schools and water shortage.
Residents are frustrated that their recent efforts to slow the growth have been overturned by supervisors who’ve allowed the developers to proceed on projects that were rejected by 60% of voters in 2020 (Measures K and N).
This Initiative allows residents to regain some control over the quality of their lives and their future by putting key decisions about land use and growth in the hands of county voters. The voters in Napa, Sonoma and Ventura counties approved similar initiatives over 25 years ago. They used similar initiatives to protect their agriculture and open space while also building a strong economy.
Our grassroots group of volunteers (mostly retired educators and students) is now working on the passage of this ballot initiative on Nov. 8. If you’d like to help us or learn more about our initiative, go to our website, CampaignToProtectSanBenito.org.
For the past eight years, our group has been working to protect our beautiful County. We want to thank San Benito voters who helped us win the following initiatives and referendum: November 2020, you helped oppose Strada Verde (No on Measure N); March 2020, you helped referend development on Hwy 101 (No on Measure K); November 2014, you helped win the ban on fracking (Yes on Measure J).
Our grassroots group is committed to protect our agricultural lands and natural resources so it can be enjoyed by you and future generations. Without your continued support we would not have won all the initiatives and referendums listed above, despite being heavily outspent by developers and oil companies. So, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
As a final note, be sure to vote “Yes” on our initiative Nov. 8. (The Measure letter will be assigned later.). Please re-register to vote if you changed your address or your name. If you recently moved to San Benito, we welcome you here and encourage you to register to vote so that you can help to shape and protect our beautiful county. Go to RegisterToVote.ca.gov to register online, or do same day registration at any polling place where you vote.
Fallon Greig
Campaign to Protect San Benito
