No on Measure B Coalition

“The No on Measure B Campaign apologizes for the misperception voters may have received from our recent mailer and the inconvenience it has caused Sheriff Tom Allman, regarding his previous neutral position on Measure B. We appreciated the Sheriff’s desire to remain neutral and his principled and consistent position to let the voters have their say.

We used a relevant quotation from Sheriff Allman at the end of the campaign mailer with his picture, not to depict him as an endorser. We stated prominently he is neutral. We quoted him as Mendocino County's Sheriff with something relevant to say about the potential public safety effects of Measure B.

A wiser course of action would have been to place a courtesy call to Sheriff Allman regarding the coming mailer to work out any potential problems ahead of time. Sheriff Allman was aware of the quote and has repeatedly confirmed its accuracy. As he explained to No on Measure B Campaign Director Laura Hamburg, “I did say that,” Allman said Tuesday morning, May 13. “Let there be no doubt.”

Even though the No On B mailer quoted the Sheriff accurately and clearly stated Sheriff Allman was neutral on B, the photograph should not have been used.

We are disappointed that the Sheriff has decided to abandon his principled neutrality on Measure B.

His new position is contrary to his previous statements to the effect that it is his job to enforce the law, not make the law.

As the Sheriff said last year in front of the Board of Supervisors, "a 6-plant limit will place a burden on law enforcement." The sheriff also said that "his deputies will not be able to focus on any other public safety issue" if Measure B passes.

Now the Sheriff has disavowed his previous comments. We're not sure what has made him change his mind but we suspect it's pressure from the Yes on B campaign. The Sheriff must be a person who can withstand public pressure and maintain principle.

Re: the mailer:

The No on B mailer stated, in bolded script, "Sheriff Allman is neutral on Measure B" There was no intent to misrepresent, nor did we misrepresent. The quotation used is verbatim, taken from an article in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, dated March 17, 2007, as reported by Glenda Anderson. Sheriff Allman makes no claim that he was misquoted.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 26, 2008
Media Contact: Laura Hamburg / 707 489-2792

SUPVISOR DAVID COLFAX ALSO CHALLENGED AND WILL HAVE HIS TITLE STRIPPED FROM THE ELECTIONS PAMPHLET

At the urging of the Yes on B campaign, Marsha Wharff, Mendocino County’s retired Registrar of Voters and a vocal opponent of Measure B, has had her name stripped from the election ballot pamphlet.

A second challenge was mounted to Supervisor David Colfax, who also opposes B. Colfax’s signature will be allowed to remain on the ballot statement opposing B, but he will have to delete his supervisorial title. The pamphlet is mailed to all registered voters before the June 3 election to inform residents of the pros and cons of each local measure.

After the Yes on B campaign mounted a challenge to Marsha Wharff’s signature, Wharff chose not to legally challenge the issue in court, which would have been the only option for keeping her name on the ballot statement opposing B. Instead Wharff withdrew her name out of professional respect for the office she ran for decades, saying she did not wish to impede the current Registrar’s deadline to get the ballots printed in time for the June 3 election.

“It’s unfortunate the Yes on B campaign demanded that Marsha Wharff’s name be removed from the ballot,” said Laura Hamburg, spokesperson for the No on Measure B campaign. “Marsha Wharff served Mendocino County as Clerk, Recorder, Registrar and Assessor for three decades. It’s sad that the Yes On B campaign should find it necessary to remove her name from the ballot on a technicality.” Even though Wharff’s name has been deleted from the voter ballot statement, she vowed to continue to voice her steadfast opposition to Measure B.
“I will continue to oppose Measure B,” Wharff said. “I am interested in the medical part of marijuana. If you’ve never had to care for another person, you don’t have a clue about what this medicine can do for pain management, calming anxiety and promoting wellness of mind,” said Wharff, who cares for her husband who has cancer.
Measure B would repeal Measure G – the voter-approved Personal Use of Marijuana Initiative, which allows for the cultivation of 25 or fewer plants for personal use only and leaves commercial cultivation and sales illegal. Measure B would roll back the County’s cultivation limits to 6 plants for medical use, zero plants for personal use and would only allow medical patients to possess 8 ounces or less of dried marijuana.

“Almost no medical patient can get by on eight ounces of marijuana a year,” Wharff said.

After retiring from public service, Wharff moved to Lake County and now sits on the board of directors of the Mendocino Medical Marijuana Advisory Board (MMMAB) a community-based, non-partisan education group that works with law enforcement, physicians, patients and public officials to recommend solutions and policy guidelines for medical marijuana.

Wharff said that as Registrar, her interpretation of elections code law would have allowed her to remain on the ballot because, although she is no longer registered in Mendocino County, she remains a director of a bona fide Mendocino County organization. Wharff signed her name to the ballot statement against B and identified herself as a “caregiver.” She was not given the option to remain on the ballot even if she added her affiliation with MMMAB.

A separate challenge was mounted to the No on B ballot statement concerning Fifth District Supervisor David Colfax. Registrar Sue Ranochak agreed to allow Colfax’s signature to stay on the ballot -- without his title.
“They wanted to strip my name entirely due to some obscure elections code law I never knew existed,” Colfax said. “I disagree with the four other supervisors on Measure B and then I am told I cannot be identified as the one supervisor who opposes this measure and furthermore that my name would be taken off entirely due to a technicality?” Colfax said. “This strikes me as ludicrous.”

Colfax said he opposes Measure B because it is a false solution that bypasses the kind of citizen input that resulted in the approval of Measure G seven years ago. Measure B would repeal Measure G -- the voter-approved marijuana initiative which was codified as county law last year. Measure G was placed on the ballot after more than 3,500 citizens signed a petition to put the issue before the voters, Colfax said.

“In contrast, Measure B was placed on the ballot by the board of supervisors, which should have been taken out of the equation,” Colfax said. “It short-circuits the entire process of involving the citizenry and getting the appropriate number of signatures to legally place it on the ballot. If the voters are being asked to reject the personal use limits of 25 plants, that’s one thing. But there should be a separate informed discussion of what the new limits should be. Maybe it’s 20 plants, or some other number,” he said. “The problem is commercial marijuana plantations. Measure B just muddies the water and gives people the impression something good is going to happen if it passes. It’s a false solution and should not be on the ballot without the appropriate public input.”
Wharff and Colfax have joined a wide-range of community leaders who have expressed concern that Measure B targets the wrong people – law-abiding residents – and does nothing to attack the large-scale, commercial growers who are abusing the law. They believe Measure B is a step backwards that turns legitimate medical patients into felons for growing more than six plants in their own homes and makes criminals out of neighbors who wish to grow even a single plant for personal use.

In addition to Marsha Wharff and Supervisor Colfax, the following citizens signed on to ballot statements opposing Measure B: Susan B. Jordan, attorney and civil rights educator; Carrie Hamburg, cancer survivor; Dr. Peter Keegan; Lynda McClure, union representative; Ronnie Gilbert, singer and cultural artist; Keith Faulder, former Assistant District Attorney, Kate Babcock-Magruder, cancer survivor; and Dr. William L. Courtney.