Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

What the emails tell us

Did shipping companies push petition signers in Barrio Logan referendum?

Did signature gatherers hired by San Diego's shipping conglomerates purposely spread misinformation in order to collect enough signatures to overturn the Barrio Logan Community Plan Update?

Emails released in court from those in charge of the referendum drive show that may have been the case. In the days before the deadline, petition drive managers were scrambling to try and correct the misstatements. Some threatened the signature gatherers to withhold payment if they continued to spread false information.

But the bigger problem, says a lawsuit later brought by the Environmental Health Coalition, is those false claims came from the top down, from shipping industry bigwigs and their lobbyist who relied on scare tactics in order to collect the 52,000 signatures needed to overturn city council's decision.

On Friday, April 4, a superior court judge will decide if their claims hold water and whether to invalidate the referendum drive.

The issue dates back to September 2013. After years of public meetings, city councilmembers voted to update the Barrio Logan Community Plan. The amendment called for more strict regulations and a better dividing line between industrial and residential areas.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Over the past several decades, Barrio Logan, one of San Diego's oldest neighborhoods turned into a land-use disaster. Auto paint shops butted up against one-hundred year old homes. Semi-trucks would rattle homes in residential areas during their journey from the port to I-5.

A buffer zone and more strict regulations, however, struck a chord with the maritime industry. Before councilmembers could return home from the vote, representatives from large shipping conglomerates were talking referendum. They hired local lobbying firm, Southwest Strategies which in turn hired National Petition Management to begin hunting down the 50,000 plus signatures needed to put the item on the June ballot.

Weeks later, signature gatherers were posted outside big-box retailers and grocery stores telling residents to sign the petition or be faced with a mass exodus from the maritime industry.

Among their selling points, gatherers said the Navy would likely set sail from San Diego as it had in Long Beach and San Francisco decades prior. Shipbuilders too would ship out in search for cheaper ports. In all they claimed, 46,000 jobs could be at jeopardy and $14 billion in revenue could be flushed down the toilet.

Those claims were later questioned by several media outlets. The Navy never said it would leave San Diego. In fact, it didn't take a position at all. And, the exact financial impacts were unknown.

The extent to which the shipping association and their colleagues played in the referendum is now becoming clear, via emails sent by the shipping companies’ petition firm.

“In light of the media coverage, and after reviewing the [Environmental Health Coalition] video of a signature gatherer, I’d like to send a memo today to all circulators that directs them to follow the script and not use inaccurate facts," wrote Southwest Strategies president Chris Wahl to the head of the petition drive Lee Albright from National Petition Management in an October 24 email.

"I’d like to have this in our files (and again get it out today) so if we are questioned again by the media we can at least say we’ve tried to nip this in the bud ASAP, and I would potentially use this to show the media we have taken action, but I want legal opinion too.”

Not long after, Albright appears to become more concerned. He sent out an email to subcontractors warning them to stay on message.

"[National Petition Management] can not and will not tolerate these actions reorient your crews on the issue and talking points," wrote Albright. "Should this continue we will be forced to not purchase signatures gathered by those individuals violating this standard.”

Just days before the petition drive deadline, Wahl and his colleague Jessica Luternauer quickly got to work to correct the talking points.

"We do not plan to be proactive at this point because we’re hopeful the issue has been addressed and we won’t have to deal with it again in the media," Wahl wrote to an undisclosed recipient on October 25. "However, as you all know, the signature gatherers are independent contractors, so it’s possible that [Environmental Health Coalition] will record someone again not using accurate facts."

Tomorrow at 11am in Department 70, Superior Court Judge Randa Trapp will decide whether to qualify the referendum, allowing the city to place the item on the June ballot.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Summit Fellowship wants to be a home of belonging

Unitarian Universalism allows you to be exactly who you are in the moment

Did signature gatherers hired by San Diego's shipping conglomerates purposely spread misinformation in order to collect enough signatures to overturn the Barrio Logan Community Plan Update?

Emails released in court from those in charge of the referendum drive show that may have been the case. In the days before the deadline, petition drive managers were scrambling to try and correct the misstatements. Some threatened the signature gatherers to withhold payment if they continued to spread false information.

But the bigger problem, says a lawsuit later brought by the Environmental Health Coalition, is those false claims came from the top down, from shipping industry bigwigs and their lobbyist who relied on scare tactics in order to collect the 52,000 signatures needed to overturn city council's decision.

On Friday, April 4, a superior court judge will decide if their claims hold water and whether to invalidate the referendum drive.

The issue dates back to September 2013. After years of public meetings, city councilmembers voted to update the Barrio Logan Community Plan. The amendment called for more strict regulations and a better dividing line between industrial and residential areas.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Over the past several decades, Barrio Logan, one of San Diego's oldest neighborhoods turned into a land-use disaster. Auto paint shops butted up against one-hundred year old homes. Semi-trucks would rattle homes in residential areas during their journey from the port to I-5.

A buffer zone and more strict regulations, however, struck a chord with the maritime industry. Before councilmembers could return home from the vote, representatives from large shipping conglomerates were talking referendum. They hired local lobbying firm, Southwest Strategies which in turn hired National Petition Management to begin hunting down the 50,000 plus signatures needed to put the item on the June ballot.

Weeks later, signature gatherers were posted outside big-box retailers and grocery stores telling residents to sign the petition or be faced with a mass exodus from the maritime industry.

Among their selling points, gatherers said the Navy would likely set sail from San Diego as it had in Long Beach and San Francisco decades prior. Shipbuilders too would ship out in search for cheaper ports. In all they claimed, 46,000 jobs could be at jeopardy and $14 billion in revenue could be flushed down the toilet.

Those claims were later questioned by several media outlets. The Navy never said it would leave San Diego. In fact, it didn't take a position at all. And, the exact financial impacts were unknown.

The extent to which the shipping association and their colleagues played in the referendum is now becoming clear, via emails sent by the shipping companies’ petition firm.

“In light of the media coverage, and after reviewing the [Environmental Health Coalition] video of a signature gatherer, I’d like to send a memo today to all circulators that directs them to follow the script and not use inaccurate facts," wrote Southwest Strategies president Chris Wahl to the head of the petition drive Lee Albright from National Petition Management in an October 24 email.

"I’d like to have this in our files (and again get it out today) so if we are questioned again by the media we can at least say we’ve tried to nip this in the bud ASAP, and I would potentially use this to show the media we have taken action, but I want legal opinion too.”

Not long after, Albright appears to become more concerned. He sent out an email to subcontractors warning them to stay on message.

"[National Petition Management] can not and will not tolerate these actions reorient your crews on the issue and talking points," wrote Albright. "Should this continue we will be forced to not purchase signatures gathered by those individuals violating this standard.”

Just days before the petition drive deadline, Wahl and his colleague Jessica Luternauer quickly got to work to correct the talking points.

"We do not plan to be proactive at this point because we’re hopeful the issue has been addressed and we won’t have to deal with it again in the media," Wahl wrote to an undisclosed recipient on October 25. "However, as you all know, the signature gatherers are independent contractors, so it’s possible that [Environmental Health Coalition] will record someone again not using accurate facts."

Tomorrow at 11am in Department 70, Superior Court Judge Randa Trapp will decide whether to qualify the referendum, allowing the city to place the item on the June ballot.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
Next Article

Summit Fellowship wants to be a home of belonging

Unitarian Universalism allows you to be exactly who you are in the moment
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.