Editor's note: The law Wal-Mart executives seek to repeal had an unprecedented level of direct citizen input (story), which included 1400 people turning out for the meeting at which a vote was taken. This would be an astonishing turnout even in a city, but Ravalli County is a mostly rural area with just 40,000 residents spread over 2400 square miles.

A Bitterroot Valley citizens group that gathered enough signatures to force to the November ballot a county emergency resolution limiting the size of big-box retailers got nearly all of its money from Wal-Mart. [Editor's note: this is confusingly worded. To be clear--the initiative advanced by Wal-Mart would suspend the county size cap (pdf) on big box stores.]

Citizens for Economic Opportunity, a group started by the conservative activist Dallas Erickson of Stevensville, collected $41,752.41 in its effort to defeat the resolution that would limit big-box stores to 60,000 square feet, documents show. Wal-Mart, which is seeking to build a supercenter in Hamilton, gave $41,000 of that amount in a check written in late May, just as the petition drive was getting under way.

Erickson said Wednesday that Wal-Mart had “contributed” to the drive to get 15 percent of Ravalli County voters to sign the petition -- that drive succeeded -- but he said he couldn't be sure about the accuracy of the figure listed on the form filed with the state commissioner of political practices. The form was filed by Erickson's group.

Erickson said his group used the company's money to pay for several “major” mailings and to pay petitioners to gather signatures. “I wouldn't deny that they donated, but at the same time, this is about free enterprise,” said Erickson, who has been a frequent campaigner for pornography regulation. “This isn't about Wal-Mart. It's about the freedom to do business.”

The county attorney of Ravalli County disagrees. In a motion for summary judgment filed Wednesday, George Corn argued that the huge Arkansas-based company appears to be trying to fit through a “narrow window of opportunity.”

That window may -- or may not -- have been created when Erickson's group filed enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot a vote on the emergency resolution unanimously passed by the Ravalli County commissioners back in April. The “window” is the issue in the lawsuit between Erickson's group and the county and yet another citizens group, the Bitterroot Good Neighbors Coalition, which had pushed heavily for limiting the size of stores like Wal-Mart.

Citizens for Economic Opportunity claims that state law and the state Constitution provide that the county's emergency resolution is now suspended pending the November vote. The county and the Good Neighbors group think otherwise.

In his motion for summary judgment -- a summary judgment motion is an effort to have a judge rule in one's favor before trial as a matter of law -- Corn notes that Wal-Mart filed a state building permit back in March to build a 153,000-square-foot store, but later withdrew it. However, two weeks ago, the company filed again.

“This withdrawal and resubmission reveals a shabby attempt to make a claim that a ‘narrow window' of opportunity to build their Wal-Mart Supercenter existed should Resolution 844 be held to be suspended,” Corn wrote. “Wal-Mart is clearly ‘gaming' the system and has been actively involved in this process, to try to build a large-scale store in Ravalli County without waiting to determine what the majority of its citizens want.”

Wal-Mart officials could not be reached for comment late Wednesday.

Corn argues that no such suspension has occurred because provisions of state law differ regarding the suspension of legislative acts, ordinances and resolutions. While some acts of elected bodies are, in fact, suspended pending the conclusion of the referendum process, resolutions are not, Corn wrote.

“Thus, a reading of the plain language of the statutes is that the electors of Ravalli County may repeal prior resolutions and ordinance via petition for referendum, but the filing of a petition suspends only recently enacted ordinances or emergency ordinances, not resolutions,” Corn wrote.

If the resolution is suspended, Corn argued, then 15 percent of voters have effectively vetoed the emergency actions of commissioners “elected by a majority of voters to protect land and natural resources in Ravalli County.”

“It would also make meaningless the authority, granted by the Legislature, for local governments to pass interim land-use measures in emergency situations,” Corn wrote.

Corn's motion will now be considered by District Judge Jim Haynes.

Meanwhile, Election Day draws near. Erickson said that his group will work hard to ensure the resolution's defeat in November. “If Wal-Mart wants to be part of that, we'd be glad to have them,” he said.

And that's precisely what concerns the Good Neighbors coalition. Coalition president Russ Lawrence said the money given by Wal-Mart was a “shocking amount” to spend on a petition drive.

“That amounts to more than $7 for every signature that CEO gathered, an amount not seen since the days when the Copper Kings were buying elections a century ago.”

Still, Lawrence was optimistic Ravalli County voters will approve the size limit when they get the chance. “I expect that Ravalli County voters will let Wal-Mart know that our votes and our communities are not for sale,” he said.

© 2006 The Missoulian

For more on size caps as a tool to control big box development, see NewRules.org.

If you're concerned by corporations claiming political "rights" and interfering in the democratic process, see our resource page on Eliminating Corporate Power Over Ballot Questions.

Commentaries on this topic

Ballot Initiatives Hijacked by Corporations

Wal-Mart Loses a Battle, But Why Was It Allowed to Fight?

Judicial Activism for Corporations Subverting Democracy

Canyon Resources Inc. Seizes the (Ballot) Initiative

 

 

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