Letter to the Editor by Beth Mattei, May 26, 2018
I refuse to reward the bad behavior of the No on Measure C campaign.
The No on C folks were sued over false and misleading statements they tried to pass off as true in their original voter pamphlet guide arguments. The Napa County Superior Court ratified an agreement in which the No on C side would remove or replace five objectively false and misleading statements in their official ballot arguments and agree to pay their opponent's (the Yes on C folks') attorney's fees.
Yet the No on C folks spun that court decision in the most insidious ways.
In addition, No on C billboards and signs have made dubious claims like Measure C will “increase traffic” that even Dave Whitmer, a No on C spokesman, said at a public event was a “pretty weak argument.”
No on C are the ones who mislead the voters at public forums with comments like the Napa County Land Trust "does not endorse Measure C" when a more accurate statement is that the Land Trust is remaining neutral. This should not be viewed as a reluctance to endorse Measure C, but simply, the Land Trust’s historical policy of neutrality on such issues.
The Napa Land Trust has also directed the two people who are using their past affiliation with the Land Trust in No on C ads, flyers, and endorsers' lists to stop using that affiliation when listing their names. Let's see if they comply.
No on C printed a woman’s name as an endorser on their splashy newspaper ads without, as she said in a recent Letter to the Editor, her permission.
And finally, if you received a "COPS Voter Guide" in the mail that looks like a major public safety organization endorsing a No on C position, think again. COPS Voter Guide is a "pay to pay mailer" that rakes in millions of dollars by selling ads under the guise of "endorsements". Appearance in that guide was paid for and authorized by the No on C campaign. COPS Guide Inc. has no members.
You have to ask yourself why the No on C folks have resorted to these shady tactics? And can you trust anything they say?
Meanwhile, the Yes on C campaign has been honest throughout and has not resorted to intentionally misleading the voters. I am voting Yes on C for a number of reasons but among them are that I trust the intentions, integrity, and behavior of the Yes on C campaign. I hope you will vote "Yes" and support Measure C too.
Beth Mattei
Napa