SometimesDavey wins but sometimes Davey suffers a setback.
Voters in Sandy, Utah yesterday voted 53% to 47% to develop a 107-acre former gravel pit which will have in its retail complex superstores like Walmart and Lowe’s Home Improvement store. The land is owned by Boyer Company, a giant developer in Utah.
It is probably the case that the people with the most money spent it advertising to get people who are easily swayed by corporate advertising to vote “yes”. The article quotes:
Save Our Communities, whose members opposed the zone change, campaigned vigorously against the change, but ultimately did not have the resources or votes to prevail….Friends of Quarry Bend, the committee formed in favor of the zone change, spent “apparently enough to win,” according to Kelly Casaday, the group’s spokesman. The majority of Quarry Bend’s money came from Wal-Mart, and the group ran several radio ads and produced direct mailers.
But wait – the vote was almost split 50-50, so nearly half the people that voted don’t want Walmart.
Dang I wish we had instant run-off voting.

A sign urging voters to approve development in Sandy gravel pit stands outside area Tuesday. Measure passed 53 percent to 47 percent.
(Deseret News Photo)