California Forever says "misinformation" circulating about signature-gathering efforts
The organization hits back at a rare public notice issued by the Solano County Registrar of Voters last week.
A computer rendering offers a glimpse at what a new community situated between Fairfield and Rio Vista might look like. (Courtesy photo)
An organization behind a proposed, large-scale development project in rural Solano County is hitting back at reports that petitioners linked to the campaign have been misleading voters over the past few weeks.
Last Friday, a spokesperson with the project, called California Forever, said opponents of their development project were spreading misinformation about people who were gathering signatures in support of a re-zoning initiative that could appear on ballots in November.
“Opponents of the East Solano Homes, Jobs, and Clean Energy Initiative have been spreading misinformation regarding the petition currently in circulation that would qualify the measure for this November’s election,” the spokesperson affirmed in an email sent to Solano NewsNet in response to an inquiry about the matter.
The spokesperson continued: “This is an attempt by the opponents to prevent Solano County voters from deciding what future they want for themselves and their children.”
Last week, the Solano County Registrar of Voters issued a rare public statement that warned citizens to carefully look over petitions for ballot initiatives before committing their signature.
The warning was issued after the office received numerous reports that petitioners outside grocery stores and other public businesses were misleading voters into thinking they were collecting signatures in support of a variety of other causes. The notice said voters who affixed their signature to a ballot could fill out a form and send it to the Registrar of Voters to withdraw their endorsement.
Prior to the notice, Solano NewsNet received several tips from long-time readers who said they were stopped by campaigners who claimed to be circulating petitions for financial literacy, public health and after-school programs when a closer inspection of their petitions revealed them to be linked to the California Forever project.
Officials for California Forever did not respond to a question sent by Solano NewsNet asking if the petitioners were linked to their campaign. In a statement sent to this and other news outlets, officials characterized their petitioners as “professional” and said they had prior work on “many other successful statewide and local ballot initiatives.”
California Forever said their signature collectors are presented with a fact sheet that includes talking points on the various benefits that their development initiative will bring, to include jobs, new housing and $200 million in downtown expansion efforts for the county’s seven other cities.
Some opponents are concerned that the development would divert critical resources needed in nearby agricultural areas — specifically water — and say that current infrastructure is not able to handle a sudden influx of thousands of new residents.
Supporters of California Forever say their development plans take into account these concerns: The organization claims to have “enough water to meet current needs through existing surface water rights and groundwater” and that it will work to find additional sources of water to sustain a growing population.
The organizers also said their plan includes “upgrades” for nearby Highway 12 and Highway 113, which will serve as key arteries linking the city to the rest of Solano County, the East Bay Area and the San Joaquin Valley.