Measure A backers look to recover and regroup Fight to continue, they promise

Posted June 6, 2007

By ROBERT SALONGA
The Salinas Californian

MARINA - In the wake of Measure A's defeat, its backers pledged Tuesday to take lessons from the campaign and keep fighting to change how land-use planning is done in Monterey County.

At the "Yes on Measure A" campaign night headquarters at Mountain Mike's Pizza, volunteers and nonprofit groups remained upbeat.

Part of that was fueled by their view that a majority of voters on Measure C cast ballots against the Board of Supervisors' General Plan Update, known as GPU4.
That's an important symbolic victory for Measure A supporters, said Phyllis Meurer, a campaign volunteer and past president of the Salinas Valley League of Women Voters.

"This is an absolute, strong statement by voters that we don't like the way planning is done right now," Meurer said.

Despite the early results on Measure C, voters appear to have upheld GPU4 by voting in its favor on Measure B, which means the board-approved measure will take effect, said Lee Blankenship, assistant county counsel. Reflecting on the roughly three-month campaign, Meurer said it could have focused more on promoting Measure A rather than battling the measure's opponents.

"The biggest hurdle for us was the sheer volume of misinformation and flat-out untruths about what Measure A would do," said Julie Engell, chairwoman of the Rancho San Juan Opposition Coalition and a Measure A backer.

But Engell said supporters conducted the "best campaign we could have done."

Looking ahead, Meurer said the issue is far from settled.

"We're not going to go away," she said, referring to the coalition of groups that sided with Measure A. "We have made a commitment to good solid planning for this county, and we're not going to disappear."

Chris Fitz, executive director of the slow-growth group LandWatch, said he expects the fight to improve county land-use policies will continue.

"It was something we have known all along: We had to fight the establishment and change the status quo," Fitz said. "It's very challenging to do that."

Contact Robert Salonga at rsalonga@thecalifornian.com.