News Subscribe to Our Newsletter Sign up for Email Updates CGF In the News Press Inquiries Past Articles Calendar			The San Mateo County Times August 2, 2004 Let democracy protect  Coastside EDITORIAL: Zoe Kersteen-Tucker, Coastal  Open Space Alliance The saga of the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District's plan to protect the San Mateo County coast will take another landmark turn. A San Mateo County judge will soon decide whether to place the issue on the November ballot or honor the extensive and democratic process that began six years ago to develop an open space protection program that the majority of local residents now view as the best way to preserve the coast's open and agricultural lands from sprawl.  A minority of folks opposed to the District's Coastside Protection Program, however, would rather pretend that this process never happened, simply because they don't like what the majority of their neighbors have to say. These folks choose to ignore the fact that the district created the Coastside Protection Program in response to overwhelming public concern for the future of the coast, and that the program was built with public input from more than 40 public workshops and hearings. Opponents weren't satisfied when the San Mateo Local Agency Formation Commission voted to approve the program in April after more public hearings, even though this is the agency entrusted with the authority to approve such proposals. Instead, opponents dragged the issue through a costly and divisive protest process and now into the courts. And in the end, about a third of the protests submitted must be thrown out because they don't meet standard elections criteria. I was among a group of volunteers who recently observed the protest validation process at County elections. We witnessed a rigorous, fair and public process in which County elections staff used the same methods for protest validation that govern all County election processes. As part of this process, we observed elections staff justifiably weed out more than 600 duplicate protests, another 340 protests signed by individuals not even registered to vote and almost 200 protests from individuals living outside of the annexation area.  We also watched the elections staff invalidate almost 400 protests in which voter information had been obviously changed or added by someone other than the signatory. These anomalies should come as no surprise given that the leader of the protest movement recently testified in court that he altered information on hundreds of protests without the permission of the protesters, and that he deliberately and knowingly submitted all these invalid protests to the County for tabulation. Indeed, this same person testified that he and his wife each personally signed and submitted duplicate protests. Al Capone's motto "Vote early and vote often" clearly resonates with these folks. It is hard to believe, but these same individuals are now in court crying foul against County election officials. The bottom line is, even if the judge puts the Coastside Protection Program on the ballot, it will likely win by a healthy margin. That's because the majority of Coastsiders support the permanent protection of open space. However, having a judge mandate an election at the expense of the taxpayers, based on the manipulative pleas of a "super minority" of individuals who feel they deserve one, would erode the very foundation of our electoral system and disenfranchise the vast majority of Coastsiders who support this important environmental protection program. Most coastal residents support the Coastside Protection Program because they know that the District will only buy land from willing sellers, and will adopt a strong "good neighbor" policy. We understand that the program will protect local farmers by creating property agreements that will help them keep farming and ranching far into the future. And we know that the District has no regulatory power over our private property. For these reasons and more, the vast majority of Coastsiders are more than ready to see the Coastside Protection Program move forward. Open space opponents certainly have the right to voice their complaints and even to have their day in court. But their obvious failure to collect enough valid protests to warrant an election signals that it is time to move on. The rural San Mateo coast as we know it is an endangered resource. Let's not waste any more time and tax dollars before enacting a program that will protect these lands for generations to come. Moss Beach resident Zoe Kersteen-Tucker serves  as spokeswoman for the Coastal  Open Space Alliance. Page last updated August 2, 2004 .