Help pass Fremont Measure K - protect the Coyote Hills Natural Area

As Election Day approaches, the campaign to pass Measure K in Fremont is heating up. Your help is needed to pass this initiative and protect 520 acres of undeveloped farmland, creeks, and seasonal wetlands surrounding Coyote Hills Regional Park and the Don Edwards-San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge at the east end of the Dumbarton Bridge.

Heirs to the Patterson fortune have proposed a huge subdivision with up to 1,200 houses for this land, while Cargill Corporation, the largest privately held company in the world, wants to build an industrial complex totaling 900,000 square feet of multi-story buildings plus acres and acres of parking lots. If these projects are allowed, the wildlife habitat and scenic views of this beautiful open space will be permanently destroyed.

Measure K is endorsed by numerous environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, Audubon Societies, Greenbelt Alliance, California Native Plant Society East Bay Chapter, Alameda Creek Alliance, and Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge - but development interests are waging a massive campaign of deception against the initiative. Campaign filings show that the Patterson heirs had contributed over $600,000 to the "no" campaign just through the end of September, while Cargill had already spent $236,000 on false and misleading TV ads and mailers. Who knows how much they will spend in total?

The deception has run the gamut from phony "environmental" claims to scare tactics about increased taxes. Our legal analysts have found these claims to be wildly erroneous.

Measure K supporters are able to counter the false messages when they speak to voters on the phone and at their doors, but it takes many volunteers to reach all households. That's why we need your help. If you live in the South Bay and can help during this last week before the election, we still have precincts to walk and phone calls to make.

To help in the campaign, see the listing of volunteer opportunities or contact or call (510) 848-0800, ext. 306

For more information about the initiative and up-to-date information on the campaign, visit www.ProtectCoyoteHills.org