Letters to the editor

Monterey County Herald
Posted on April 26, 2007

Misleading Claim

Brian Brennan's conclusions on the Rancho San Juan vote (April 22 Commentary) are seriously flawed since he ignores the most significant factor; the LandWatch referendum ran unopposed after supervisors killed the project before the election. The 3-1 margin reflects the fact no effort was made to fight the measure.

In this light, the 75 percent support LandWatch claims is misleading and readers should be aware that Brian Brennan is not an objective analyst. He took out papers to run against Lou Calcagno for supervisor in 2006.
Looking at the results of LandWatch's last three attempts to secure supervisor's seats, the voters appear to be evenly split. LandWatch candidates Dave Potter/Jane Parker/Jyl Lutes collected a total of 31,911 votes in 2006, against the Steve Collins/Jerry Smith/Calcagno total of 32,003.

Smith beat Parker in a close race, 50.5 percent to 49.5 percent. Calcagno defeated Lutes by 55-44 and Potter won a three-way race with 55% of the vote.

The myth of a disenfranchised slow-growth majority based on LandWatch's misleading presentation of the Rancho San Juan vote is a poor basis for abandoning representational democracy.


Alan Kemp
Aromas