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billboard companies asked to have the process slowed down so that they could bring in <br />competing offers for our City, but the offers were ignored. <br />When the referendum process started, Allvision sent "blockers" to try and stop signature <br />gatherers from talking to people. Blockers followed and harassed both petitioners and signers <br />with loud verbal confrontations or placed themselves between the petitioner and signers. Some <br />physical altercations occurred, resulting in arrests and more than one petitioner sought medical <br />attention for injuries. <br />In the 30 -day petition period, Allvision spent $120,000 to pay the blockers to take away the <br />Constitutional right of voters to petition their government. I was outraged that a company that we <br />might be doing business with would act in such a manner. <br />The Inspector General of Metro investigated the claims of abuse by the blockers and on April 24, <br />the blockers were told to stop interfering with the signature - gathering process. They ignored the <br />order, and the abuse continued into May, when the petitions were turned in. The City incurred <br />additional sheriff's expenses of time responding to these incidents and for additional patrols to <br />ward off potential confrontations. <br />When the issue was placed on the ballot, Allvision completely financed the "Yes on S" <br />campaign, for an amount of $164,000, producing mailers and ads that were placed on radio, <br />newspapers, and various websites in Santa Clarita. The mailers were misleading and sometimes <br />patently false. <br />On November 4, the people spoke and the Allvision deal was killed. This issue turned neighbor <br />against neighbor and destroyed the trust many people had in their government. I hope that Santa <br />Ana does not invite this predatory group into their community, and that you benefit from our <br />experience. I encourage you look carefully at all possible partners, and if you choose to move <br />forward with an outdoor advertising contract, let competition work to give your citizens the best <br />deal which they have had input on. <br />If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. <br />In the Peoples Service, <br />TimBen Boydston <br />Councilman (not writing on behalf of the Council as a whole) <br />timbenboydston@yahoo.com <br />