By Daniel Larios
May 1 , 2014
Proponents of placing a measure on the ballot to keep the Santa Monica Airport open have hired a firm to gather signatures that has
been embroiled in controversy.
“Santa Monicans for Open and Honest Development Decisions,
Sponsored and Major Funding by Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association”
reportedly paid $10,000 to hire Arno Petition Consultants Inc., also
known as Arno Political Consultants, according to campaign finance
disclosure documents filed with the Santa Monica City Clerk's Office.
The petition drive management firm based in Carlsbad
-- which bills itself as the top political consultant firm in the
country -- has been the subject of controversy over allegations of
petition fraud.
They include a 2007 petition to place a
Republican-backed Electoral College measure on the ballot in California
and a 2005 petition to reverse same-sex marriage legalization
in Massachusetts, according to various media reports.
The San Jose Mercury News reported
on November 2, 2007 that Arno Political Consultants was hired to
gather signatures for a petition to place a measure on the ballot that
"would change the way California allocates its electoral votes in such a
way that the Republican presidential candidate would gain as many as
20 more votes on the ballot."
The news story alleged that "signature gatherers
working for Arno Political Consultants told voters they were signing a
petition to stop Iraq war funding, one for children's hospital care and
another barring election officials from releasing election results
early."
The New York Times also covered the story, as well as the Los Angeles Downtown News, adding
that "signature gatherers ask(ed) homeless people on the city’s
notorious Skid Row for their signatures to help qualify the electoral
vote initiative and three others, as well as asking them to fill out
voter registration cards.
“In exchange, the paper reported, homeless people and those in
nearby shelters were given Snickers bars, instant noodles and other
snack foods."
The Boston Globe reported
October 19, 2005 that "voters said they were asked to sign a ballot
question about the sale of wine in grocery stores and were then told to
sign a second sheet of paper without being told it was the initiative
to ban same-sex marriage. In some cases they said they were told the
second sheet was a backup sheet for the wine question."
The article stated that Arno Political Consultants
was "hired by supporters of the ballot question, which would define
marriage as the union of a man and woman, to help collect signatures."
The firm – which boasts more than 120 million
signatures to qualify nearly 500 ballot initiatives in 20 states -- has
denied any wrongdoing in the past.
Arno Political Consulting could not be reached for comment.
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA), a
Maryland-based nonprofit group that advocates for policies favorable to
aviation, was listed as the lone contributor to the ballot measure’s
campaign committee, according to the campaign disclosure forms.
The AOPA has donated $20,000 to the pro-airport group, the documents say.
"We're happy to support a citizens’ campaign that places the
question of redeveloping 227 acres of Santa Monica public land in front
of the voters rather than leaving it to politicians and special
interests," said Steve Hedges, director of media relations for the
AOPA.
Supporters of the initiative – who must gather the
signatures of 9,200 registered voters -- say they oppose changes to the
airport because the City, which hopes to shut down at least part of
the 5,000-foot runway as early as 2015, is working on behalf of land
developers who want to build on the property.
Echoing opponents of the proposed 765,000-square-foot
Bergamot Transit project, supporters of the ballot initiative have
argued that residents should have the right to vote on major land use
issues such as the future of Santa Monica Airport.
But opponents of the measure don’t buy it.
"I think this is a cynical use of the Residocracy model used
by big business interest," said John Fairweather, citing the recent
referendum campaign by Residocracy.org to oppose the Bergamot Transit
project. "It's a dangerous development and the community has to
actively oppose it."
Fairweather believes the campaign is being conducted by outside interests “interfering in local politics.”
"It doesn't sound like concerned residents to me,” he said.
“It's a con. It’s masquerading the issue as an issue of development
when it has nothing to do with it.
“All in all, it's just an attempt to deceive the electorate
and work on the very real fear of out of control development in this
city and to use this fear as leverage."
Two days after the City Council voted unanimously in
favor of taking steps to close down Santa Monica Airport, supporters of
the century-old airfield filed paperwork with the City Clerk's office
to put an initiative on the November ballot. The proposed initiative
would amend the City's Charter to require voter approval before the
City can close any part of the airport.
If the measure is approved, it would require voters to
approve any and all changes to the property, including the amount the
City charges tenants for rent. (“Ballot Initiative to Preserve Santa Monica Airport Moves Forward,” April 8, 2014)
Residents on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter have shared experiences with paid petition gatherers.
They say petition gatherers are allegedly telling
signers that the petition calls for a ban on large airplanes, stop the
airport from being developed, and that if people signed, that the
gatherer would make money to eat that night.
"The signature gatherers are getting around $4.50 a
signature and are saying pretty much anything to get signatures."
Fairweather said.
"I don't blame them because they're just trying to earn some money. It's depressing that this is how they're making it."
Source: http://www.surfsantamonica.com