[ See below: Unions Skip Campaign for Big-Box Ordinance ]
Contra Costa supervisors kicked off their election campaign on Tuesday to keep retail giant Wal-Mart from building any of its sprawling superstores in the county, saying the stores will aggravate traffic on roadways that are already grid-locked and will lower the quality of life for residents.
"We clearly do not have the capacity to deal with our congestion problems in the county,'' said Board of Supervisors Chairman Mark DeSaulnier, who argued that putting up big buildings, like Wal-Mart and other so-called big- box retailers, represents bad planning. "This initiative is to stop these stupid land uses in the county.''
The board last summer approved an ordinance that would ban superstores larger than 90,000 square feet that sell large volumes of non-taxable groceries from being built in unincorporated areas. Martinez had earlier blocked a Wal-Mart by passing a similar ordinance, and the city of Oakland last week adopted a law banning stores of more than 100,000 square feet. Membership stores like Costco are not affected.
Wal-Mart, which has said it plans to build 40 superstores in California, fought back against the Contra Costa ban by collecting enough signatures for a referendum on the issue. Voters on March 4 will decide whether to uphold the county's ordinance or overturn it.
Wal-Mart spokeswoman Amy Hill said the company, which is planning superstores in Tracy and Gilroy, has no plans now for a store in Contra Costa County but decided to fight the ordinance to keep its options open because there are more than 1 million residents there who could be potential shoppers. Most of Wal-Mart's 1,400 superstores are between 180,000 and 225,000 square feet.
Hill said arguments that superstores are a poor use of land and cause traffic problems are "ludicrous.''
"A destination that allows for one-stop shopping has the potential to cut down on traffic,'' Hill said. "So-called land-use arguments are nothing more than a way to try to divert the real issues, which is that this is being driven by unions. Unions are very frustrated by their inability to unionize Wal-Mart associates, so they're trying to stop Wal-Mart stores.''
John Dalrymple, executive director of the Contra Costa Central Labor Council, said business and environmental groups as well as unions have opposed superstores, claiming Wal-Mart is "trying to marginalize it because that's in their self-interest.''
The referendum campaign will probably be expensive, and while Hill would not say how much Wal-Mart would spend, she said $1 million "is not out of the realm.''
Supervisor John Gioia said the pro-ordinance forces will be outspent by Wal-Mart, but said he believes the county should not knuckle under to pressures from an out-of-state corporation.
In a sign of the political fallout from the gubernatorial recall election, labor groups were noticeably absent Tuesday when Contra Costa supervisors kicked off their campaign to limit super-sized stores.
At a news conference outside the county administration building, two supervisors said the measure on the March 2 ballot would ensure the county maximizes commercial tax revenue. ACORN, a nonprofit agency, presented two residents who said they were concerned about the traffic a giant Wal-Mart would generate.
But Contra Costa unions, which led the charge for the ordinance, were nowhere in sight. In the past, they have criticized the nonunion Wal-Mart chain for offering inadequate wages and benefits.
Recent events have altered the political landscape. Contra Costa's labor groups might have taken stock of the negative publicity unions received during the recall and handed over campaign leadership, said Jaime Regalado, executive director of the Edmund G. "Pat" Brown Institute of Public Affairs at Cal State Los Angeles.
The unions have "been raked over the coals," he said. "The issue would play much better for them now if it's a Wal-Mart versus the community story rather than a Wal-Mart versus the unions story."
Asked why he skipped Tuesday's event, Contra Costa Labor Council executive director John Dalrymple said his group had not taken a position on the issue.
"It's premature to say whether or not we support the ordinance," he said. "We'll have to meet with our members and hear their concerns."
However, in the past Dalrymple has been more forthcoming with his views. He, along with county building trades CEO Greg Feere and President Tom Baca, successfully urged the board to adopt the ordinance in June. It would prohibit stores larger than 90,000 square feet from dedicating 5 percent of shelf space to nontaxable items, such as groceries.
Soon afterward, Wal-Mart collected enough signatures to force supervisors to rescind the ordinance or place it before voters. Supervisors chose the latter option.
Reminded of the June meeting, Dalrymple said he had forgotten about his past backing of the ordinance. "Of course we support it," he said. "The issue just hasn't been a focal point in our work. Our involvement in the campaign has not been determined yet."
Wal-Mart community affairs manager Amy Halley Hill said she is surprised to see labor taking a back seat.
"In every instance where we've seen this type of ordinance, it has always been supported, pushed and brought to the board or city council by unions," Hill said. "It is something union attorneys originally drafted."
Labor's low profile on Contra Costa's big box controversy raises larger questions about the unions' political role statewide in the era of Gov.-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger. Union leadership failed to galvanize members to thwart the recall.
In fact, 45 percent of voters who identified themselves as union members voted to oust Davis, and 37 percent voted for Schwarzenegger, exit polls show.
During his campaign, Schwarzenegger frequently scorned public employee unions as dangerous special interests with a corrupting influence over state government.
Tim Hodson, director of Sacramento State's Center for California Studies, said labor groups typically play a leading role in local land-use measures involving Wal-Mart. But now they may want to lie low.
"Right now they may be in a retreat-and-consolidation mode," he said. "But that could change. I doubt Schwarzenegger will continue his anti-union political hyperbole very long."
The national nonprofit group ACORN, which advocates for affordable housing and open space, is leading the pro-ordinance campaign. The group is not trying to disassociate itself from Contra Costa unions, said political director Doug Bloch.
"We don't see them as a liability," he said. "This is a community campaign, and I'm hoping as we get closer to the election we'll get everybody to go door-to-door, and that means labor, seniors, environmental groups, as long as they're willing to help."
County supervisors on Tuesday approved their ballot arguments for the referendum. The board is stressing land-use issues, arguing the county would not receive tax dollars for food items.
After the meeting, Supervisor Mark DeSaulnier of Concord said there was no effort to relegate unions to the shadows.
"I expect labor will be a component of this campaign."
source: http://www.bayarea.com/mld/cctimes/content_syndication/local_news/7129973.htm 30oct03
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