Disney Signature Gatherers: "They Want To Put Low-Income Housing By Disneyland"

In their first mailer, Save Our Anaheim Resort (SOAR) -- the rubric under which Disney is pushing it's ballot-box zoning initiative -- tries to entice voters to sign its petition by claiming residential projects "could drive resort businesses an tourists out of Anaheim..." [full disclosure: I'm a member of the consultant team for SunCal's project]

That's not what they're telling voters in person through their signature gatherers. What Disney is telling voters about its initiative in print is very different from what they're saying verbally through their signature gatherers.

During the past 10 days I have a few excursions throughout Anaheim, visiting every supermarket shopping center in the city. Without exception, the pitch used by signature gatherers to entice signatures from Anaheim voters is a variation on this theme: "They want to put low-income housing by Disneyland."

Here some samples of what I was told by different signature gatherers:

"The city wants to build 25 acres of low-income, Section 8 housing by Disneyland."

"They want to put low-income housing by Disney."

"They want to put low-income housing around Disneyland."

My inquiries about what the impact would be of residential projects in resort district usually elicited a lurid reply. One signature gatherer outside a Vons in Anaheim Hills used this scare tactic on me:

SIGNATURE GATHERER: “Imagine you’re driving down Katella near Disneyland and you see projects.”

ME: “Projects?” I said.

SIGNATURE GATHERER: "Yeah - projects!"

His co-worker told me that if any residential projects were built in the resort district, it would hurt tax revenues and result in higher property taxes:

ME: You're saying property taxes will go upo if this housing goes in?'

SIGNATURE GATHERER: "Well, I'm not saying they'll definitely go up, but they could go up."

One of my favorites was the signature gatherer who said SunCal's condominium project would bring prostitutes and druggies to Disneyland:

ME: "Why does Disney feel the residential development hurts them?"

SIGNATURE GATHERER: "You know about Knott's Berry Farm, right?"

ME: "Yeah."

SIGNATURE: "You know about Beach Boulevard, right?"

ME: "Yeah."

SIGNATURE GATHERER: "They don't want another Beach Boulevard. You understand what I'm saying? They don't want prostitutes. They don't want people with drugs around. But Beach Boulevard's full of that."

ME: "Does housing bring in prostitutes?"

SIGNATURE GATHERER: "That whole area around Knott's Berry Farm -- there's low income housing, there's apartments, there's condos, there's all that -- so yeah, it does."

One signature gatherer related this interesting explanation of what Disney's initiative is about:

"Apparently, Disney was promised some land quite a few years back on a hand-shake thing, OK?  And what happened is -- I guess it's been sold to some developer. OK? SO what they're wanting to do is they want to put low-income housing around Disneyland, OK? So what Disney is doing is they're taking it to the voters and letting them decide whether their should be low-income housing by Disneyland."

I asked him, "What's the harm if housing is built there?"

His response:

"Well, if the low income housing, OK, um, you know, of course, I mean...low income housing, it attracts a lot of...it can attract some unsavory people, you know what I mean?"

I know exactly what he means -- and I think the Disney forces know exactly what they're doing by having their signature gatherers conjure up images of "projects," "prostitution," "drugs," "unsavory people" and so forth if SunCal's project is approved. Not that the signature gatherers ever talk about a condominium development -- the only thing voters hear from them is the code-phrase "low income housing."

Comments

[bored lately?]

seriously matt,
don't you have anything better to do than cruise anaheim? or any other clients that need your services? i mean, of all the things going on in oc, ca, us - this is what you spend your time "reporting" on. i think most of us gave you way more credit than you deserve.

[Thanks, Jubal]

Sounds like someone from Team Disney doesn't like Jubal reporting on their double game of take the high road in the mail and send their carnie circulators out to scare white voters into signing Disney's petition to "low income housing" -- wink-wink, nudge-nudge -- won't get put it.

This is why this is a great blog. It would never occur to OCR or LAT reporters to actually go out and see what these clowns are saying in order to get signatures.

[Thanks, Jubal]

I meant to write:

"...sending their carnie circulators out to scare white voters into signing Disney's petition to "low income housing" -- wink-wink, nudge-nudge -- under the radar where the MSM won't pick it up."

And what exactly would the Team Disney person have Jubal reporting on? Last time I checked, this is one of the biggest ongoing stories in the county.

[just...asking..]

Hard to believe that we can't trust petition circulators in Orange County. Geez thats never happened before! Why didn't you do your "man on the street" interviews when the party was flipping voter registration rolls? Would have saved the party and its leaders a lot of embarassment. The pay might not be as good, but you would have done more good than this paid effort.

[Try just...thinking]

just...asking:

Try thinking before commenting.

1) How was Jubal to know ahead of time that some circulators illegally re-registered voters from Dem to Rep, so he could be out there with his video camera?

2)Maybe you just started reading this blog, but that whole incident happened months before OC Blog joined Red County and Jubal started doing this whole YouTube thing.

3) You're ignoring the fact that Disney's circulators are using blatant lies to get Anaheimers to sign this petition. Who do you think gives them their talking points.

Rather than just...asking, try just...thinking.

[Thomas Dickensheets]

That's a good idea. They should put low income housing there. I'm on a low income Seattle Housing up here.