On Tuesday the voters of San Juan Capistrano went to the polls, actually only 2,000 went to the polls – the other 4,700 voted by mail and approved Measure B. B was a referendum on a retail development, meaning the council had approved the project and a NIMBY citizen group collected signatures, got it on the ballot, and lost – 56% of the voter sided with the council and the developer.
The developer had the help of veteran political consultant Eileen Padberg. But there was also a robust independent expenditure funded by the Orange CountyAssociation of Realtors (Dave Stefanides) and run by political consultant Brandon Powers.
The campaign stuck to basic messages and they won, which is not easy in party of South Orange County where development can meet with strong opposition.