On Nov. 20, Measure G was voted down. I have always been a good sport
and, even though I supported the Koll project and wish to thank everyone
who voted "yes," I will humbly concede that we didn't win.
However, after reading all of the "Monday morning" quarterback
critiques of the Yes on Measure G campaign and the numerous opinions on
why Measure G was defeated, I felt compelled to point out some details
that have been overlooked by these pundits.
First, only 10,810 people voted in the Measure G election, and out of
that 6,388 voted against the measure. With more than 47,000 registered
voters in Newport Beach, less than a quarter bothered to vote, and out of
that less than 14% of all the voters in the city determined the fate of
the Koll project. What's even more alarming is that there are more than
60,000 people of voting age in Newport Beach, and only 10% of those
people were able to defeat Measure G. I would not call this a mandate,
but a tragedy for the democratic process when such a small minority --
one out of 10 people -- can impact all of our lives.
Second, there seems to be some confusion about the Greenlight
Implementation Committee. The anti-business and anti-growth Greenlighters
don't own the rights to the word "Greenlight" and are not the sole
interpreter of what Greenlight represents. More than 1,000 residents in
Newport Beach publicly endorsed Measure G, and they did so because they
believed that the Koll project represented the proper implementation of
Greenlight.
Third, I am baffled by the opinion that Newport Beach voters are much
more sophisticated than voters in other communities and were able to
analyze Measure G based on the facts. At the same time, I read letters
from anti-business Greenlighters who claim to be supportive of the
project but will vote "no" because we dared to also use the word
Greenlight.
None of these people attended any of the planning meetings or probably
even read the volumes of information on the project. Does this sound like
voters basing their decision on the facts or more like someone who will
oppose any project in the city no matter what.
Fourth, there is no doubt that we all care very much about our
community. Traffic is one of our key concerns. No one claims to be in
favor of gridlock or "pro-traffic." We also knew that the Koll project
was going to generate additional car trips, as any new development would.
However, it was unfortunate that the scare tactics used by our opponents
