Weldon Landfill Opponents, Backers Filling Treasuries

Opponents of a landfill at Weldon Canyon have raised $42,387 in cash and nonmonetary contributions to challenge the dump initiative on the March ballot, according to campaign finance reports.

Meanwhile, backers of the countywide landfill initiative said they missed the Feb. 15 deadline for filing their latest finance statement. The report covers Jan. 1 to Feb. 10.

“Our treasurer blanked out--she just forgot,” said Richard Chase, general partner of Taconic Resources, the San Diego investment firm behind the landfill initiative. “I have no explanation.”

But Chase said the Taconic-sponsored group Ventura County Citizens for Environmental Solutions had only a single $700 expenditure since the beginning of the year. He said the financial report was mailed Wednesday.

Deputy County Clerk Jenny Harrison said the Taconic group would probably not be penalized for the late filing. Political organizations are subject to a $10 to $100 fine for each day they are late.

“If it is in good faith that they are getting it in, then we probably won’t do anything,” she said.

Taconic reported last month that it had spent $102,800 to put Measure T on the March 26 ballot. But Chase reiterated the group’s plans to spend another $400,000 to woo voters before the election.

“We’re saving our money until March,” he said. “The bulk of the money is going to be spent in the last couple of weeks.”

Milton Kramer, campaign manager for Citizens Against Measure T, said his organization is not discouraged by Taconic’s financial muscle.

“I’m pleased with what we’ve raised,” he said. “It shows there are a lot of people concerned out there.”

Kramer’s group reported raising a total of $27,000 in cash contributions, with $23,000 remaining in the bank.

The largest single donation that the group has received so far was $5,000 from Malinda Chouinard, co-owner of Patagonia, the Ventura clothing manufacturer. The group received a $2,800 contribution from attorney Judith Bysshe and $1,000 each from actor William Paxton and physician Richard Gould.

Kramer’s group also reported receiving $15,300 in nonmonetary contributions, mostly from items donated for a recent auction to support the the campaign. Among the items donated were a $400 antique wheelchair, a $200 rocker and a $450 Victorian brass bed.

But Kramer said he was not certain all the items had sold.

Still, he said he was encouraged by the growing support. Unlike Taconic, which has gotten the bulk of its money from outside investors, Kramer stressed that his group is supported entirely by local residents.

“If you look at who is contributing to their campaign and who is contributing to our campaign, it speaks volumes,” he said. “The people that are financing the initiative don’t reside here.”

Taconic wants to build a dump in Weldon Canyon north of Ventura to replace Bailard Landfill in Oxnard after it closes next summer. Snubbed by a majority of county supervisors, Taconic has decided to bypass the board and go directly to the voters with its proposal.

Kramer’s Camarillo-based group opposes the Weldon Canyon landfill because it believes the site will become a regional dump that will have to import trash from outside the county to survive economically.

Chase said this is not Taconic’s intention, that the landfill can be financially successful without bringing in trash from elsewhere.