Living Wage Article Misses Mark; Target Project Hits Bulls Eye

May 15, 2000

Dear Editor,

Your article ("Wage Petition Battle Nears End," May 15) quotes Mark Mosher saying that SMART's campaign is "definitely the heaviest funded blocking campaign I've ever seen. We've gone basically toe to toe."

SMART is mostly made up of volunteers. Most of the people on the truth teams are volunteers, which in case Mr. Mosher doesn't know, work for principle rather than money.

Mr. Mosher has some big nerve to talk about heavy funding, for he would not even be active in our city unless he was being paid a large amount of money. His tactics and those of Progressive Campaigns are heavy handed, full of lies and misdirection.

Don't be fooled- Mr. Mosher is not a Santa Monican in favor of a living wage. He is from San Francisco, where his anti-living wage stance is a matter of public record. Progressive Campaigns
is well-known in Arizona, Oregon, Pasadena, and Thousand Oaks for running signature- gathering campaigns for big dollars, based on aggressive, menacing tactics and outlandish lies. They are funded by businesses who say they cannot afford to pay a living wage, yet can pay up to $7 a signature to try to exempt themselves.

SMART is made up of citizens of Santa Monica as well as workers and a few staff members. We are in this cause because we are concerned about full time workers who cannot even feed their families.

Let's work together to get a wage policy that works for Santa Monica, rather than hire expensive consultants famous for underhanded tactics who merely take the money, create divisiveness, and leave town after town in a mess.

May 15, 2000

Dear Editor:

Your long article on the issue of the Living Wage, misses some of the most important facts.

One: Mr.Mosher is a hired hand by the chamber of commerce and his dirty tactics have not been seen in these parts. I believe that the chamber needs to look at what they have brought to our community and what kind of consequences flow from that.

Two: The Goons that are being hired by Mosher are truly irreverent to people's desire. They follow you around; they misrepresent the petitions and lie about its purpose. At $7 a signature the push is really on.

Three: This community is supportive of the living wage and wants it to happen here. I would also say, that the council has behaved responsibly by doing the survey and hiring a person like Pollin to conduct it. He is the expert in the field.

May 11, 2000

Dear Editor,

Yes, this one will get my vote! I am in favor of a Target Store in the Santa Monica area. This type of store offers such a variety of items that it is almost like a "ONE-STOP- SHOP". People would not have to come out as often to shop.

The very same people that are currently shopping, eating and patronizing the Santa Monica stores are the very same people that will be shopping at Target, thus no added crowds. Target stores are always constructed with the ability to accommodate the high volume parking. I see no reason to block the efforts to bring the store to the Santa Monica area.

I actually live in the city of Inglewood but I spend quite a bit of time in Santa Monica because I work in Santa Monica 5 days a week from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. I also work some Saturdays. I take care of quite a bit of my business right here in Santa Monica.

May 9, 2000

Dear Editor,

Welcome back (Mitch Chortkoff). You've been missed.

Chris Long