Measure C victorious in south, weak in north Measure C victorious in south, weak in north (November 21, 2003)

South of Oregon voters pushed Measure C over the top

by Don Kazak

Measure C, which won a narrow victory Nov. 4, met its strongest opposition not in the neighborhood closest to the development, but an area targeted for future growth.

According to a breakdown of how each precinct voted, Measure C won its plurality in the south, 54.4 percent to 45.6 percent. But the Charleston Meadows neighborhood where the Hyatt Rickey's Hotel is facing redevelopment showed the most resistance to the ballot measure, with 34.8 percent "yes" to 65.2 percent "no."

"People are envisioning what the City Council would allow to be built in their neighborhood," Larry Hassett, who led the opposition to the ballot measure, said. "It was clearly an issue that transcended 800 High St."

Deborah Ju, president of the Charleston Meadows Neighborhood Association, wasn't surprised by the strong opposition vote in her neighborhood, even though the neighborhood association didn't take a position.

"The concern level must be about the Hyatt," she said.

However, Ju was surprised by the support in the precinct surrounding 800 High St. The precinct closest to the 800 High St. project was almost evenly split: 50.5 percent "yes" to 49.5 percent "no."

"The accepted wisdom was that the opposition was centered in the south," Deborah Ju, president of the Charleston Meadows Neighborhood Association, said. "It goes to show that you can't trust the accepted wisdom."

Another stunner was the anti-C sentiment north of Oregon, 51.9 percent to 48.1 percent.

And voters near another large planned project, redevelopment of the Alma Plaza Shopping Center, were also evenly split: 50.8 percent "yes" to 49.2 percent "no."

The 61-unit condominium project at 800 High St. also wasn't popular in a precinct on the edge of Crescent Park at Middlefield Road, where it scored 39.7 percent "yes" to 60.3 percent "no."

The citywide vote on Measure C was 51.7 percent "yes" to 48.3 percent "no."

The much smaller western part of the city (College Terrace, Barron Park and Arastradero Road) was narrowly pro-Measure C, 51.1 percent to 48.9 percent, despite a huge anti-Measure C vote in College Terrace (40.9 percent "yes" to 59.1 percent "no").

Don Kazak can be e-mailed at dkazak@paweekly.com