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Here Is Why I Am Voting Against Prop. 90
Sifting through Prop. 90, from sound bites and spins to the textbook opinions on the ballot, it is easy to get confused. Only when you start to read the fine print of the initiative and see who is supporting Prop. 90 does it really get scary. Four of six supporters of Prop. 90 list themselves as “Eminent Domain Abuse Victims.” Hearing about a citizen bullied by “big government” or “big” anything resonates with us. For some politicians, it is a tempting issue.
But who are the real supporters? The majority of the funding comes from Libertarian groups supported by people such as New York developer Howard S. Rich, Chairman of Americans for Limited Government. These out-of-state groups are not only funding Prop. 90 but similar propositions in five other Western states. Their national goal, as reflected in Prop. 90, is not to correct any abuses in the way government condemns private property. Rather, it is part of a fundamental attack on the government’s current legal role to be actively engaged in the betterment of our cities, states and the environment. In Culver City, the “Eminent Domain Abuse Victim” is Les Surfas. The city has decided to acquire his site at Washington and National. By law, the city must pay Mr. Surfas a fair market price through negotiation which is much preferred. But if that isn’t successful, they will condemn his property. This difficult decision is being made by the same kind of Culver City political and staff leadership who, over the last 30-plus years, used their talents, commitment and powers of government — including the right to condemn private property — to create a renaissance in the city. Walk through Downtown. Walk east and west along Washington Boulevard. See the restaurants, theaters and new enterprises. This has brought added value and success to Mr. Surfas’s fine project — and to all of us. If Prop. 90 existed, this dynamic never would have happened.
