Proposition 90: Revenge of the Property Rights Fundamentalists

The worst thing on this year's California ballot is Proposition 90.¹ It's a bait-and-switch kind of deal: the bait is limiting local governments' ability to use eminent domain to benefit private businesses (very popular after the Kelo decision); the switch is a requirement that government reimburse landowners for any regulation that diminishes the economic value of their property. The latter provision would cripple environmental and land-use regulation at the local (and probably state) level.

So who's behind this?

According to an article in Thursday's Chronicle, Proposition 90 is 92% funded by a network of groups controlled by Howie Rich, a wealthy Libertarian real-estate investor in New York.

It's fairly clear that the groups, which shuffle money back and forth among themselves, are set up in order to hide the source of donations. Rich says his donors want anonymity because they fear government retribution, but it seems more likely that voter retribution is the real fear. There also appears to be some astroturfing going on; Rich tries to spin them as sustained by thousands of small donations, but won't disclose any donor lists to verify the claim.

Proposition 90 is currently ahead in the polls--among people who are aware of it, which at this point is something like 28%. Unless a lot more people learn what it really means, and who's behind it, a single property-rights fundamentalist from the opposite coast will succeed in destroying California's ability to govern ourselves.

In the same edition of the Chronicle, there was also the heartening news that Eastshore State Park, a dream of East Bay environmentalists for 30 years, is finally becoming a reality. 30 years ago there was nearly no public access to the Bay between Emeryville and Richmond, and dozens of developments were planned for the waterfront; now, an 8.5 mile stretch of shoreline is protected as parkland. It took a lot of public action and intense negotiating over the years to make this happen. Without the leverage of land-use regulations, it would have been impossible.

If Proposition 90 had been in effect 30 years ago, there would be no Eastshore State Park. If it passes, nothing like it will be possible in the future. The story of one crucial victory serves as a timely reminder of what's at stake in this election.


¹This is not to slight the second-worst proposition on the ballot. Also, the whole governor Schwarzenegger thing--I still cringe when I hear that.

[That's all, folks]