Post-election statement from No on H campaign
June 10, 2022
(From press release) We are pleased by the overwhelming defeat of Measure H, which we believe would have resulted in a development that was harmful to Davis.
It was a true grassroots effort of many volunteers over many months, who poured countless hours of their personal time into the campaign. It was also the result of many passionate supporters who donated to the campaign, displayed lawn signs, wrote letters to the editor, and participated on social media. We thank everyone who was involved in the effort.
We hope the resounding defeat of Measure H leads to more collaborative community discussions that engage Davisites in creating future projects which will be truly sustainable and environmentally progressive.
I would also like to hope that no one is discouraged by the DISGUSTING OBSCENE tactic of the developer, in league with DAN CARSON, shamed soon-to-be-former City Councilmember, to sue citizens over ballot language.
One can hope that:
A) This inane tactic cost them the election (or at least many percentage points) and everyone can see that so that no one ever does this again.
B) This inane tactic cost them the election (or at least many percentage points) and everyone can see that so that no one ever does this again.
C) Carson is dumped from office, so that the message is clearly sent how stupid this is so that no elected official in Davis ever does this again.
D) Carson is dumped from office, so that the message is clearly sent how stupid this is so that no elected official in Davis ever does this again.
Posted by: Alan C. Miller | June 10, 2022 at 10:45 AM
So any predictions on how long it will be before DiSC III pops up?
1 year?
2 years?
Posted by: Keith | June 10, 2022 at 12:04 PM
I really appreciate the people involved in this campaign, and the effort they put into it.
Thank you so much.
I really like that parcel of land, as is.
Posted by: Ron O | June 10, 2022 at 02:15 PM
Keith, ugh. Good question. I would *hope* that the developer would listen to us — we said “no” once, and then said it again, more strongly. If they brought it back for a third time, I’d have to ask, are they just trying to wear us out? Or do they not understand “no”? Do they not get that people don’t want to see the same old thing rehashed and repackaged ? I have to wonder if this wasn’t part of the “No” vote, that we had just rejected this proposal 18 months ago. If I were giving advice I would say that they should either wait a much longer time before bringing this back or they should bring back something radically different.
Posted by: Roberta L. Millstein | June 10, 2022 at 02:31 PM
I think they would have been more successful spending $600,000 trying to overturn Measure J :-|
Posted by: Alan C. Miller | June 10, 2022 at 03:10 PM
Alan, I know from your previous comments that that would be your preference. But I think it would be a massively uphill climb, given that it just passed by a whopping 82.75% just 18 months ago. It would be another case of “Really? Did you not hear us?” More generally, I think voters typically are not going to be in favor of reducing their rights to have a voice. You’d really have to show that the measure is harmful, and that is a pretty tall order. It is an especially tall order when we have a city council who seems uninterested in pushing developers for better projects.
Posted by: Roberta L. Millstein | June 10, 2022 at 03:18 PM
Roberta, all this talk and excuses about how the low voter turnout hurt the YES vote leads me to believe that the developers still haven't learned their lessen.
We'll see...
Posted by: Keith | June 10, 2022 at 03:27 PM
Keith, agreed. They really seem to be grasping at straws to try to explain this overwhelming loss…. everything except the obvious, the answers that are staring them right in the face. The statement from Ramos seems to suggest that He Really Doesn’t Get it.
Posted by: Roberta L. Millstein | June 10, 2022 at 03:34 PM
Maybe the developers should buy a pony for every student who votes for DISC III.
Posted by: Alan C. Miller | June 10, 2022 at 03:49 PM
The error that both the developer and David Greenwald made it simple -- immersion bias. They only interacted with the College Democrats Organization, who as a block voted 100% and voted 100% for the project. The developer and David Greewald then assumed: A) All student care about this (wrong); B) All students vote (wrong); C) All students who care and vote will vote 'yes' (wrong). By "All" I mean "Most". Cuz I change words to mean new things now. I saw the woke doing it and thought I'd give it a try.
Anyway, they were immersed in a tiny number of politically active, pro-housing, woke, progressive, student activists, and forgot to walk around campus and notice everyone else.
Ooops
Posted by: Alan C. Miller | June 10, 2022 at 03:54 PM
All the stops were pulled out towards the end. Lawsuits, implied racism, sign stealing accusations, paddle boards, etc...
I feel that turned people off more than it helped.
Posted by: Keith | June 10, 2022 at 04:20 PM
There was a recent vote on campus about the fees for athletic activities that had a direct impact on students, and yet very few students voted. How could DG and the developers not notice that? Or notice how poor student engagement is in local politics more generally? That DG thought that this was going to be a close vote is a sign of just how much of a silo he is in.
Posted by: Roberta L. Millstein | June 10, 2022 at 04:29 PM
"That DG thought that this was going to be a close vote is a sign of just how much of a silo he is in."
I agree. And in my opinion that silo just got deeper with the Vanguard's recent comment policy.
Posted by: Keith | June 10, 2022 at 04:48 PM
I believe the silo didn't get deeper, but may have collapsed. The Vanguard website has been unreachable for a couple of hours now.
My theory is that development money being used to prop up the Vanguard through the election has run out and the Vanguard can no longer pay the bills to keep its server running. Has anyone archived the last 20 years of articles so they aren't lost? We could upload the archive, spread the BS in the field where DISC II was supposed to go, and it would be the most productive farmland in the Central Valley!
Posted by: Alan C. Miller | June 10, 2022 at 06:41 PM
Oh, sorry, didn't mean to get everyone's hopes up. The Vanguard sever is again serving up fresh cow pies for mass digestion. Eat up!
Posted by: Alan C. Miller | June 10, 2022 at 07:55 PM