Special interests are opposed to Measure B

Special interests want Measure B killed. Home Depot must be pretty sure that if voters had their say, they'd vote no.

There are some, especially those against Measure B, who think that the voters should just elect the people to make the decisions and then stay out of it. These critics say, "If you don't like your elected officials, vote them out of office."

Well, that's a fine sentiment, and in most cases, it works well enough. However, the decisions whether we develop open space, whether we overbuild near residential areas, whether we add more traffic and congestion than our city streets can handle- - are the most important decisions that affect our quality of life.

And we've come to learn over many years that certain special interests have supported their favorite council members for the entire history of our city.

And they have consistently argued that it would be devastating to include voters in major land-use decisions.

And, in every case, they've been wrong. On the most important of decisions that keep our quality of life high, we've consistently included the voters:

•When developers want to turn open space into housing, we ask the voters to approve it with SOAR (Save Open space and Agricultural Resources).

•When developers want to build more houses than the General Plan allows, we ask the voters to approve it with Measure E.

•And now, with Measure B, when developers want to build something so big that it will grind traffic in our city to a halt, we'll just ask the voters to approve it.

Please vote to keep our city the great city that it is. Please vote "yes" on Measure B.

Mic Farris

Former chair,

T.O Planning Commission