This article was published on the front page of the Star and Tribune.
Mailers strike nerve in Wal-Mart opponents
By Jason Kosareff , Staff Writer
ROSEMEAD -- Targets of a series of mailers accusing Wal-Mart opponents of deceit are steamed over what they call lies and racial antagonism.
The latest of the four mailers to arrive in mailboxes Thursday reads: "Have you been tricked The out of town anti-Wal*Mart forces are paying petition circulators $5 per signature. To get those signatures they have been lying about the purpose of the petitions.'
Putting Rosemead In a Desirable Environment is the group responsible for the $2,000 worth of mailers.
"The fact of the matter is they have people who are not registered voters collecting signatures and we believe that among those are paid people,' said Mike Lewis, a West Covina-based consultant to Wal-Mart and organizer of PRIDE.
The mailers accuse petition gatherers of deceiving voters into signing a petition in favor of the 24-acre Wal-Mart Supercenter development approved for Walnut Grove Avenue and Rush Street in Rosemead.
The latest mailer also reads, "Their real intention is to put the Wal*Mart on the ballot so they can bring Jessie Jackson and Reverend Al Sharpton to Rosemead to defeat the project.'
"You think people would be smart enough to think this little city is not going to get Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton here,' said Larry Bevington, of anti- Wal-Mart group Save Our Community, which is circulating the petition. "This is what got them in trouble in Inglewood. They kept coming out with this crazy (stuff) and people got mad at them.'
Bevington said the references to the two African-American civil- rights leaders is "racial overplay' and an attempt to stir up fears about blacks in this mostly Asian and Latino city.
Lewis said the mailers were not intended to be racist or play off racial fears.
Jackson and Sharpton spoke out against a Wal-Mart initiative in Inglewood that was ultimately defeated at the polls in April.
Lewis said Wal-Mart opponents would likely try something similar.
"They'll be running in every celebrity loudmouth they can find,' he said, adding he was not speaking for Wal-Mart but for PRIDE.
Lewis also said some residents have complained of harassment by petition gatherers.
Bevington said 30 volunteers are assigned to collect up to 3,000 signatures they hope to turn in by Wednesday, but denied any gatherers have been rude or forceful.
One mailer listed the Rosemead Chamber of Commerce telephone number, but chamber Director Lee Ann Dalessio distanced the business group from the mailers and the chamber requested PRIDE remove the number from future mailers.
"We're aware of (the mailers) because the chamber supports Wal-Mart,' Dalessio said. "They are coming from the community. It's the PRIDE organization that is mailing these out. It's nothing that the chamber is doing. We are not paying to put them out.'
Jason Kosareff can be reached at (626) 962-8811, Ext. 2717, or by e-mail at jason.kosareff@sgvn.com .
Some comments
"'The fact of the matter is they have people who are not registered voters collecting signatures and we believe that among those are paid people,' said Mike Lewis, a West Covina-based consultant to Wal-Mart and organizer of PRIDE."
The fact is, though there are some non-Rosemead people walking with the Rosemead citizens, all the petitions are carried and witnessed by Rosemead citizens. At no time, does this ineligible person collect signatures alone, nor does the ineligible person handle the paperwork or witness the signature. We do this because it's hard work walking, and sometimes you need translators and it's a lot easier to walk if you have a friend along.
This was a major compromise, because some ineligible people wanted to help out.
If anyone asked me (and I only went out a few times) I was up-front about where I lived, what side I was on, and so forth. That's just how I chose to act.
Nobody has been paid, as far as I know. There's been some talk about paying people, but I'm 99% certain that only volunteers walked the petition.
"Lewis said the mailers were not intended to be racist or play off racial fears."
That's real funny. They were obviously intended to be racist. I grew up around here, and back when there was a large influx of Chinese people into the area, there were a lot of racist anti-Asian flyers circulating. And, more than one Mexican American person who's been in this area a couple generations has remarked to me about how it used to be pretty rough for Mexicans here.
I was a little surprised to hear someone joking about Jesse Jackson at the first Rosemead PRIDE meeting too.
"'They'll be running in every celebrity loudmouth they can find,' [Lewis] said, adding he was not speaking for Wal-Mart but for PRIDE."
Sure, just like SOC were being paid $5 per signature by unions. Sounds like Lewis will say anything outrageous to spread doubt. SOC should note this, and try to stick to local, non-celebrity loudmouths who want to speak up about Wal-Mart.
Even this sounds suspicious: "Putting Rosemead In a Desirable Environment is the group responsible for the $2,000 worth of mailers."
That's what? 5,000 mailers? Did they just mail it to people who hate unions and African Americans, and wouldn't be offended?
All these bogus accusations are FUD - statements designed to spread "fear, uncertainty, and doubt" about SOC. They want to encourage our own fears about the unknown.