Elk Grove City Councilman Voices Third Robo Call; Region Business Sending Mailer

November 20, 2016 |

The petition drive that started about 11-days ago in Elk Grove seeking to reverse an October vote by the Elk Grove Council is taking on new dimensions with each passing day.

That petition drive, which is funded by an identified entity, is seeking to reverse an October 12 vote that released the Howard Hughes Company (HHC) from a development agreement. By rescinding the development agreement on its unfinished Outlet Collection at Elk Grove, HHC is pursuing a sale of a portion of their parcel to the Wilton Rancheria who has proposed a $400-million casino resort. 

To push back on the petition drive, the Sacramento-based business advocacy group Region Business has initiated a counteroffensive claiming the petition could hurt prospects for completion of the Outlet Collection. The first phase of the counter effort has included robo calls from Region Businesses Executive Director Joshua Wood and outgoing Elk Grove Mayor Gary Davis.

On Thursday night, a third call was placed to Elk Grove residents, this one voiced by Elk Grove Councilman Steve Detrick. In his message,  Detrick advised people who encouraged individuals who signed the petition of a mechanism to have their signatures removed (audio below).

From the responses they have received from Detrick's call wanting to remove their signatures, Region Business is conducting personal visits to respondents to have them sign the required documents.

In addition to the calls and their signature-removals efforts, Region Business has started distributing a mailer to Elk Grove voters. The piece is expected to arrive in mailboxes starting tomorrow. This mailer asserts the petition drive will hurt efforts to resume construction on the Outlet Collection and includes comments (see below) from California State Assembly Member Jim Cooper (D - Elk Grove). 

Aside from comments previously provided by professional signature gatherers and the determination that the petition drive is being orchestrated by Sacramento-based Arnol Petition Consultants, nothing else is known about who or what entities are sponsoring the efforts.