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Victor Maccharoli - Chairman of the Yes on Measure B committee Bill Mahan discusses the issue with Mayor Marty Blum at yesterday's press conference.

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Measure B backers hit 'push poll'

By COLBY FRAZIER — Sept. 26, 2009

Proponents of the Measure B building heights initiative gathered yesterday at City Hall where they railed against a telephone poll, which they called a “push poll,” labeling it “propaganda” and “undemocratic.”

The poll, which the Measure B supporters say has been rolling across local telephone lines for about a month, asks what supporters of the measure called “leading” questions aimed at convincing voters to shoot down the measure.

While the poll itself has drawn the ire of proponents, more maddening than the poll itself, they say, is the fact that the group or person behind it has remained a mystery.

“We would like to know who’s at the bottom of these things,” said Bill Mahan, chairman of the Yes on Measure B Committee, at the news conference. “We don’t like the fact that it’s being done secretly. It’s not being done transparently. That’s really what’s upsetting to us,” he added later.

Gil Barry, a Measure B proponent whose number has been dialed more than once by the pollsters, said at no point during the eight-question poll is it disclosed who footed the bill.

According to campaign finance disclosure statements, the No on Measure B Coalition, which had representatives at yesterday’s news conference, has not paid any money to Sun Surveys, the polling firm based in Miami that Barry said is conducting the poll.

Debbie Cox Bultan, who leads the No on Measure B Coalition, responded to questions about the poll by insisting it wasn’t newsworthy.

Pressed on the contents of the poll, Bultan declined to comment. She would neither confirm nor deny her group was behind the poll.

“All I can say about the poll is if and when we do a poll, it will be disclosed on our campaign disclosure forms in due course,” she said.

Bultan, however, did address why she believed her opponents launched what she called a “theatrical” stunt.

She pointed out that the Yes on Measure B Committee, also known as Save El Pueblo Viejo, has received $9,000 in contributions from Texas developer Randall Van Wolfswinkel, who has also given hundreds of thousands of dollars to candidates running for City Council and Mayor through the political action committee Preserve our Santa Barbara Inc.

“I think they didn’t want that to come out today and they threw out this red herring about this poll,” she said.

While Wolfswinkel is the largest single contributor to the yes on Measure B effort, he’s hardly the only out-of-towner to throw cash into the race. In fact, Measure B opponents have received an equally hefty amount of non Santa Barbara support, bringing in $5,000 from the California Association of Realtors in Los Angeles and another $5,000 from Victoria Street Partnership LLC of San Francisco.

Measure B is the lone measure on this November’s general election ballot, and has brought the divisive politics surrounding building heights in this quaint town roaring to the forefront of discussion.

If approved, it would reduce building heights in the commercial zone from 60 to 45 feet, while restricting heights in the city’s historic district to 40 feet.

Proponents say the restrictions will prevent tall buildings from popping up around town, obstructing views and ruining the city’s historically small character.

On the other hand, opponents have insisted current height restrictions have served the city well for years. To chop 15-feet from the top of future development, they say, will encourage urban sprawl, limit the city’s ability to build affordable housing and stifle economic growth.

According to Barry and others who have received the poll, its content follows the opponents’ views closely.

Mahan and other Measure B supporters, including Mayor Marty Blum, called for those on both sides of the issue to use fair and accurate advertising tactics.

“We need a fair, good, just election here because we are a city that truly deserves it,” Blum said.

But, like any controversial topic, there are often two warring sides with varying interpretations on the possible fallout of such things as ballot measures.

One of the questions posed in the poll, which Barry said he jotted down as it was being asked, but could not be verified by the polling company last night, dealt with the possibility of Measure B spurring urban sprawl.

The reason proponents dubbed the poll a “push poll” is the manner in which the questions are posed. For instance, one question Barry documented asked: “Are you aware that if Measure B passes there will be more sprawl? Does that raise any doubts, or minor doubts, or no doubts about Measure B?”

City Council candidate David Pritchett, who is in favor of Measure B, said this question is a clear example of where the intent isn’t to gather objective information, but to skew the voter’s take on the issue and push them to vote no.

“They want you to get freaked out by what they say,” he said. “Push polls aren’t polls, they’re just to say something that sounds authoritative to influence the target.”

But while proponents insist statements that say Measure B would cause sprawl are misleading “propaganda,” opponents say sprawl is exactly what they believe will result if Measure B is passed.

Brian Robinson, a member of the No on Measure B Coalition, said just because the two sides disagree, doesn’t make either one a liar.

“We’ve been saying that all along that this will lead to sprawl,” he said. “Just because they don’t’ like what it’s saying doesn’t mean we’re misleading the voters.”

Asked if the No on Measure B Committee had bankrolled the survey, Robinson declined to answer, saying only that the group shouldn’t have to inform anybody about its campaign tactics.

Nevertheless, Mayhan stood firm in his belief that Measure B, which earned its spot on the ballot when supporters gathered thousands of signatures, and the entire democratic process, was wronged by the poll.

“How campaigns are conducted is really important for democracy and we’ve got to try to keep it on a high level,” he said, adding that his group could file a complaint with the city clerk’s office to investigate the matter. “There’s a fundamental problem here that transcends yes or no on Measure B, and that’s what we want to root out.”

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3 other Charter-changing measures : 9/26/2009

There are 3 other Charter-changing measures on the ballot, C, D, and E. Read Cheri Rae's excellent op-ed in this week's Daly Sound!!!

BRC

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Question? : 9/26/2009

Could it be that these poor old phone banked senior citizens are being played for a fool by someone from Moneycito Texas with $250k to spend on manipulating our local elections???

Don McDermott

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Typical tactics from the usual suspects : 9/26/2009

Debbie Cox Bultan is associated with The Coastal Housing Partnership, a local setup which serves to mask the greediness of local developers. Its sad and typical of that bunch to turn the argument on its head to confuse the residents. They are complaining about an "out-of-town developer" who backs Measure B, trying to make him look greedy. But the truth is that we have a few greedy influential developers here, who have consistently worked to confuse the issues and overbuild. Building up has nothing to do with building out. It's all about choice and planning. Crowding people into a smaller space will not help anything; to the contrary, crowding is simply crowding. Sprawl is another issue. Don't let the greedy developers posing as community activists confuse you. Yes on Measure B, please.

kelly travers

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I received one of these calls : 9/27/2009

I received one of these calls a couple of days ago from "Sun Surveys". I have recieved both push and regular polls before. This one didn't seem like a push poll. It lasted about 15 minutes. They asked mostly about measure B. It seemed more like they were fishing for reactions to possible campaign slogans. Couldn't tell which side they were fishing for.

Chip

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