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On Election Eve, Here Is Why I Am Supporting Prop. 90
[Editor’s Note: Bob Blue, owner of now-better-known-than-ever Bernard Luggage, near Sunset and Vine in Hollywood, won an historic eminent domain case six weeks ago with the city of Los Angeles. A passionate advocate of Prop. 90, which would restrict government ability to use eminent domain, he is responding to this past weekend’s anti-Prop. 90 essay by Bill Feldman (thefrontpageonline.com, “Here Is Why I Am Voting Against Prop. 90,” Nov. 3). Two installments on Mr. Blue’s battle with the city of Los Angeles have run, so far, in thefrontpageonline.com (“Bob Blue Isn’t — Because He Learned How to Fight City Hall Intelligently,” Oct. 18, and “’Fighting Eminent Domain Becomes Your Life,’ Says a Man Who Won,” Oct. 30).]
My name is Bob Blue, and I am one of the original signers of Prop. 90. I support Prop. 90 from the perspective of a small business owner and an active Democrat who no longer has any personal or financial stake in the outcome of this proposition. Because I have been involved in a challenge to the use of eminent domain for private development, I have met — and sometimes even employed — some of the best eminent domain attorneys in California. I sought out their expert advice early on Prop. 90. These attorneys only stand to lose business if Prop. 90 passes, and yet they are supporting it. I was also part of a 5- city, nationwide study on eminent domain conducted by the non-partisan General Accountability Office this year, as reported in the Los Angeles Times. (1)
