Napolitano
has publicly said she supports passage of Prop. 106.
Carefree‑based
Desert Foot‑ hills Land Trust wants to see Prop. 106 passed,
said Mike Rigney, executive director of that trust. “Proposition
105 protects some of the lands in our area,” he explained. “Proposition
106 protects them all – immediately and in a more substantial
way.”
According
to Carla, executive director of the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy,
“Proposition 105 is a sham, a slap in the face to the 300,000
people who signed the petition to get Proposition 106 on the
ballot.” Carla goes by a single name.
Critics
of Prop. 105 have said the measure was put on the ballot in
order to confuse voters. The lobbyist for homebuilders disagrees.
Prop.
105 preserves open space, protects the economic value of the
state land trust for beneficiaries and permits orderly and planned
growth, said Spencer Kamps, vice president of legislative affairs
for the Home Builders Association of Central Arizona.
Kamps
criticized Prop. 106, arguing it “puts conservation at the top
of goals and degrades the economic value of the State Land Trust.”
Pat
Graham, Prop. 106's campaign chairman, vowed to keep the campaign
positive.
“Our
polls show that when people understand the differences between
the two measures, they support Proposition 106 by a 2‑1
margin,” Graham said.
John
Gunn, park supervisor for Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area,
said that whichever measure passes, he hopes it will enable
Spur Cross to pick up some of the sensitive land parcels adjacent
to it.
Last
week, proponents of Prop. 106 won a minor victory when a Maricopa
County Superior Court judge ruled the initiative is legal, rejecting
the Home Builders Association’s contention that the measure
improperly deals with more than one subject. The association
vowed to appeal the decision to the state Supreme Court.
In
order to pass, the land reform measures need more than 50 percent
of the votes cast.
If
both pass, the proposition that receives the most votes will
prevail, said Kevin Tyne, spokesman for the Arizona Secretary
of State’s Office. For example, one proposition could win with
54 percent of the vote and the other could pass with 52 percent
of the votes cast.
In
the event that happens, Tyne said “provisions in the measure
that receives fewer votes could be implemented if they (those
provisions) don’t conflict with those in the winning proposition.”
He
added that if there is a conflict, the matter could end up in
the hands of the courts.
