I Supported Measure K

In June of 2006 the City Council decided to hand over the fate of Target to the voters or the “mob” as James Schwab would derisively comment. At the time I felt the Davis City Council should have made the decision itself. That is why they are elected to the council in the first place. In Redding we never had these large ballot battles over development, the council always decided.

If another future development like Target comes to Davis the council should decide on the question instead of tearing the community apart. City Council members have great access to staff, legal and environmental scholars, developer testimony, and so on. They are in the best position to decide these issues and indeed four out of the five of the council members sided with Target.

I also thought that it was rather inappropriate on the City Council’s part to make a decision on Target during the interim period between the June 2006 election and when City Council members are sworn in. This silenced Target as a political issue in the race because the new City Council members would have no say on the decision. It also shielded the existing City Council from damage. Although politically smart it is quite shady.

Target quickly mobilized resources to campaign on the issue. They rented out a suite in order to promote their campaign and gave out free t-shirts. Along with a professional website and professional people imported from other places they were ready to go. I joined the Target campaign in the Fall of 2006 until the end on the election day.

The Target store had many advantages that were seemingly ignored by the opposition. Target would bring considerable income into the City of Davis and would continue to expand as the years went by. The city at the time was too dependent on the University Mall for sales tax revenue. The Target would also provide products that could not be found in Davis and they were at cheaper prices. This would be very advantageous for students and for families.

The Target also had a Unitrans bus route that would pass along side it. It had an electrical outlet for electrical cars, crosswalks for pedestrians, and was convenient for West and South Davis residents as far as location was concerned.

The Target store was classified as a LEED bronze which is a very difficult rating to get. Only three buildings in the US had such a classification proving that it was the best environmental alternative. It was to be surrounded by trees to make it look nice and its size would block out undesirable traffic from the major highways in the area.

Critics pointed out the possibility of shop lifting but the police chief, who happened to endorse the project, debunked that theory as alarmist. Critics also said there would be a dramatic increase in traffic while at the same time declaring the store would close down due to a lack of business. The truth of the matter is that many people were burning fuel driving to Woodland to get their stuff. It is best to keep tax revenue in Davis instead of it being sent off to places like Dixon, Woodland, and Sacramento.

The alternative to Target would be a warehouse or a car lot. Now, car lots provide a lot of money to the city but not as much as Target. If one looks at the environment Target was the best plan. Some complained that the character of Davis would be forever changed despite the fact that box stores like Ace Hardware, Safeway, Borders, and Office Depot are already here. My point is that Target would do much better for Davis’ character than an open field where nothing happens.

So, all things considered, I volunteered quite a bit. I phone banked, delivered signs, precinct walked, made Facebook groups, argued on the Davis Wiki, held up signs on Election Day, and other small tasks. Was it momentous action? Probably not, but it did put a strain on my schedule and it was more than some other City Council candidates ever did.

In ASUCD I tried to pass a resolution in favor of Target which was introduced by an enthused Spencer Higgins (other Senators refused). It went through the proper channels of going to the External Affairs Commission. The EAC under Mike Lay’s command failed it unanimously. And it wasn’t like the resolution was bad format or content wise. I made changes as they were suggested. It was apparent however that the commission knew very little about the project and was confused by the presence of Lamar Heystek and Rob Roy. Those two fought against the resolution as I argued all the points that I could muster. Heystek had the usual tendency to go over time with his comments. Mike Lay didn’t decide to enforce time limits until I spoke a second time and only after I complained about it. James Schwab said that the resolution should fail due to its divisive nature on the students even though he wrote in his blog that he favored the project. After the resolution had failed it went to the Environmental Planning and Policy Commission. It was also voted down unanimously even as I had victoriously announced that Measure K had won. I was informed by Dan Xie who was the chair of EPPC that Measure K was in fact not environmentally sound. So it never went to Senate and the Senate never had a vote on the subject.

The EAC instead voted unanimously in favor of SMUD which was glorified by Heystek, Roy, and then Senator Salem. Interestingly SMUD was apparently more divisive as it failed in Sacramento and Woodland and barely passed in Davis. That resolution went on to pass unanimously in the Senate. Problem in judging political climate? Perhaps, but I wasn’t alone on this Target issue. President Darnell Holloway was a supporter of Measure K and would have signed into law a measure supporting Measure K. When the election was over Measure K had won with 51.5% of the vote. I won but ASUCD, Heystek, Greenwald, Roy, the EAC, and EPPC were all wrong.

The battle over Target didn’t end after the passage of Measure K. In his zeal to destroy Target Heystek introduced an ordinance that it would increase the minimum wage on retail stores to the same level as Safeway. This would have hurt Target and it was his intention to drive them out of business or at least punish them for wanting to come here. He was defeated by the other four City Council members but he already knew that was going to happen; he wanted to make a political statement.

I must oppose, for obvious reasons, legislation that is designed to destroy business in Davis. There is a way to deal with a certain issue and one cannot punish corporations in order to bring about prosperity. I hope to see Target open in 2009; it should be an exciting day for many residents. Those who voted against Measure K will surely change their minds upon seeing the benefits. But it really needs to be said that City Council candidates: Mike Levy, Lamar Heystek, Stan Forbes, and Rob Roy were all wrong on Target but Ruth Asmundson was right and that is to her credit. Perhaps that is one of the many reasons she got the most votes in the June 2006 election.