Hollister
– With the Nov. 7 election less than two weeks away, the
campaigns for and against Measure S are working hard to win voters
to their side. Yes-on-S supporters – who have spent more money than
any campaign in San Benito County history – continue their steady
stream of promotional mailings, and
even their cash-strapped opponents managed to send a single
mailer to absentee voters, with another one to follow next
week.
Hollister – With the Nov. 7 election less than two weeks away, the campaigns for and against Measure S are working hard to win voters to their side. Yes-on-S supporters – who have spent more money than any campaign in San Benito County history – continue their steady stream of promotional mailings, and even their cash-strapped opponents managed to send a single mailer to absentee voters, with another one to follow next week.
Local groups and agencies have taken stands on both sides of the issue – the San Benito Chamber of Commerce, Vision San Benito and the San Benito Business Bureau are supporting the measure, while the City Council and the county’s Board of Supervisors have come out against it.
“The Yes-on-S campaign is optimistic that we’re getting the word out,” said Yes-on-S Campaign Manager Annette Giacomazzi. “We’re very proud of the fact that we’re running a clean campaign and are not distorting the facts.”
On the other hand, anti-Measure S campaign organizer Gordon Machado said he’s “never been optimistic.”
Machado added, “You go full bore to the very end, come what may.”
The citywide ballot measure is sponsored by developer Pulte Homes. If passed, it would redesignate 1,300 acres of agricultural land near the municipal airport as a “mixed use residential community” and would create an exemption from the 244-unit cap on residential allocations imposed by Measure U. When the current development moratorium is lifted, Pulte subsidiary Del Webb could be issued up to 650 permits a year for its proposed Sun City Hollister senior living community.
On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to oppose the measure; Jaime De La Cruz was the lone Measure S supporter. Giacomazzi said the decisions by the supervisors and the City Council to take stands against Measure S have helped to mobilize Del Webb’s supporters.
“Unfortunately, it reinforces residents who are voicing their opinion that they don’t trust local government,” she said.
The Chamber of Commerce polled its members before taking an official opinion. Chamber President Frankie Valent-Arballo said that more than 100 of the chamber’s members – around 16 percent – had responded to the poll, and that 69 percent of the respondents supported the measure, while 34 percent were against it.
“We go by what our membership says,” Valent-Arballo said. “It’s too big an issue for one or two people to decide for the chamber.”
Machado said he was skeptical about the poll’s significance, because of what he saw as the low response rate and the fact that companies outside Hollister could vote. He added that he’s been contacted by a law firm in Salinas; the firm said it was voting in the chamber’s poll and wanted more information about the measure.
“They have no knowledge of it and they’re voting?” Machado said.
The Hollister Downtown Association has not taken a position on the measure. Yvonne Caporgno, the association’s treasurer, said the association didn’t have the time or resources to poll its members.
“The decision was that our board was divided,” Caporgno said.
Giacomazzi said that she is concerned that the measure’s opponents are making misleading statements, including claiming that the Del Webb project will cost the city money.
“Sun City Hollister … won’t cost the city one dime,” she said. “Any revenue shortfall will be made up by Del Webb and opponents know that, but they are intentionally leaving that out.”
Giacomazzi added, “In fact, Hollister and its residents will receive hundreds of millions of dollars towards widening Highway 25, improving our schools, revitalizing downtown, giving priority to local contractors, lowering sewage bills and adding additional capacity to the sewage plant.”
Machado said he’s still concerned that Del Webb is going through what he calls the “back door” of the planning project. He said the developer should “present the project and make some commitments, then go to the voters.”
He added that after the election, his group of Measure S opponents wanted to look into “tweaking” Measure U to allow more development.
Anthony Ha covers local government for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 330.
