“Desal Project Ground Zero Walk” in Support of the Right to Vote on Desal

For Immediate Release
Interviews & Visual Opportunities Available
March 29, 2012 Contact: Paul Gratz
831.419.6441
righttovotevondesal@gmail.com
www.voteondesalsc.org or www.rtvod.org

Former Mayors & County Supervisor to Lead April 7 “Desal Project Ground Zero Walk” in Support of the Right to Vote on Desal Ballot Initiative.

Santa Cruz – On Saturday, April 7 at 3pm, five former City of Santa Cruz mayors and neighbors will assemble on the Mitchell’s Cove bluff to support the “Right To Vote on Desal” (RTVOD) citywide petition campaign. The event will include a walking tour along the route of the ocean intake and brine discharge pipelines to the two proposed sites for the seawater desalination plant on Delaware Ave.

Former Mayors Tim Fitzmaurice, Chris Krohn, Celia Scott, Bruce Van Allen, and Jane Weed will speak at the beginning of the event. Also, Gary Patton, former chairperson of the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors, will participate. He is recognized as a statewide environmental leader who promotes sound water and land use policies through grassroots community action.

Currently, volunteer petition gatherers are canvassing the “ground zero” neighborhoods in advance of the high-visibility event.

The community-driven ballot measure would amend the City of Santa Cruz Charter to guarantee the citizens' right to make the final decision on a desal plant. A charter amendment can only be approved by the people, and cannot be reversed by the City Council without a further vote of the electorate.

If build, the desal plant would be the most expensive infrastructure project in the history of the city, with far-reaching impacts that are still being evaluated in an environmental impact report (EIR).

Petition circulators are gathering signatures through early-May from registered City voters to qualify the measure for the November ballot.

RTVOD Coalition sponsors include the Sierra Club, Surfrider Foundation, Santa Cruz Desal Alternatives, and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom.

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