Thursday, 10 June 2010 06:28

Protect Sutter Creek Will Not Sue Over Measure N Loss

slide2-_protect_sutter_creek_will_not_sue_over_measure_n_loss.pngAmador County – Protect Historic Sutter Creek hinted at legal questions in voter registries this week, but said the Measure N vote outcome, if lost by the group, would not face a legal challenge. Bart Weatherly, head of Protect Historic Sutter Creek, said his group never wanted to stop Gold Rush Ranch & Golf Resort. They just wanted a smaller project than its 1,300-plus single-family homes. Weatherly said: “Even the Yes On N people in their heart of hearts wanted a smaller project. I talk to them all the time. They are my friends and neighbors.” He said they were not given another option and felt that “it was all or nothing.” They wanted the project’s benefits, so they gave the project support. Weatherly said if his No On Measure N side eventually loses, “Protect Historic Sutter Creek has no intention of filing a lawsuit,” but “that doesn’t speak for other groups out there.” He said they “are just thankful that the people of Sutter Creek got a chance to vote on this issue.” The weeks leading up to the election included allegations by a Jackson business owner that someone from the Protect Historic Sutter Creek group was harassing her voting eligibility in the June 8th election. A list reportedly named registrants with questionable eligibility. Weatherly said: “We do not have that list. At one time we turned it in to (Registrar Sheldon) Johnson.” Weatherly said “we’re not going to pursue any of that” at the moment. He said he would not tell the names that were on the list, and he criticized a newspaper article on the subject, saying it started as “story about possible illegal voter registration and it went to a story of alleged harassment on our end.” Weatherly said: “We never harassed anyone.” The group has 70-80 people who are loosely in group, who would help put stamps on fliers. Then there is the core group of roughly 25, who came up with the information for the fliers. They expected a larger margin, and had tried to estimate people’s votes leading up to the election day, to help direct flier campaigns. They rated people on a 1-5 scale. The 1-2 rated people supported Gold Rush, those rated a 3 were undecided, and those rated 4-5 were supporters of the No vote. Weatherly said they “had a rough idea of the 4s and 5s out there, just like we had a rough idea of the 1s and 2s.” He said he thought more people supported it than had admitted. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.