Union Rep May Be Responsible for Lost Sonoma Doorknob-Hangers

That bag full of doorknob-hangers for the Protect Sonoma organization turns out to belong, maybe, to a union organizer whose offices are in Rohnert Park.

Chris Snyder, district representative of Operating Engineers Local 3, contacted Patch on Friday saying the reports as published were untrue and  the bag was his. When contacted by phone, he suggested the bag might have been lifted while he and an unnamed number of colleagues were gathered in the Sonoma Plaza, compiling materials for doorknob distribution.

He did not, however, say the bag was his, though the bag did have the Operating Engineers Local 3 name embossed on a label, according to Ned Forrest, the Sonoma architect who found the bag.

Snyder characterized his union’s involvement as stemming from high unemployment rates in the trades, up to 30% recently as he said, though he acknowledged the economy in the building sector was improving.

“We’ve got a lot of guys who are out supporting the project,” said Snyder. “There’s a lot of construction support for it. It’s hard to find living wage jobs.”

According to the website for Operating Engineers Local 3 (www.oe3.org), "Most of our members work as heavy equipment operators and construction workers, but we also represent public employees, such as maintenance workers and police officers.”

Chris Snyder is listed as District Representative for District 10. He characterized his area of coverage as Sonoma, Lake and Mendocino counties, and said that while he lived in Sonoma County and the group he was organizing “had guys who live in the city” of Sonoma.

He also said that the Protect Sonoma organization, through Nancy Simpson and another woman he did not identify, “reached out to us” and asked for help. “We want to make their hotel a good example of a labor-friendly, fair wage project.”

When reached, Simpson told Patch, "Protect Sonoma is thankful for the efforts of the Operating Engineers Union, for helping to distribute our door hanger flyer."

Simpson also noted, "I reached out to Ned Forrest on Friday and when we spoke, I encouraged him to simply call me in the future when he 'finds' a bag of our flyers." 

The presence of a business card from the Graton Rancheria appears to be a coincidence base on the labor union’s other contacts. The Graton Rancheria is building a casino and hotel in Rohnert Park.

"I am happy to respond to requests to comment on news stories about the Hotel Limitation Initiative, but this fabricated story is lackluster at best," said Simpson.

For Barnett, however, the story is not about the found bag but why an outside labor union is being brought in to Sonoma to canvass against a local initiative. "Why they are hiring (are they paying?) or bringing in people from outside  Sonoma to walk neighborhoods and talk to residents about the initiative? And how are such folks identifying themselves? How can they call themselves a community group when engaging in this type of activity?"

Says Simpson: "The union walkers are not paid in any way by Protect Sonoma or the union--they are completely voluntary. They believe the initiative is flawed and the issue doesn't make sense--and will cost us jobs in Sonoma. They are concerned citizens like us who care about local jobs. That's why they joined us."

Barnett specifically objected to  factual errors in the mailer, including its assertion that the initiative "doesn't allow for more hotel rooms..." The language of the initiative prevents building new hotels larger than 25 rooms, not all new hotels. 

Barnett also questioned the cost of the doorknob-hanger, which he described as "the largest-sized door hanger I have ever seen, 17' x 5' full color printed both sides." Patch has not seen the door hanger, but has received cell phone photographs, which are represented in the graphic illustration accompanying this article.

“Protect Sonoma is a local citizens group whose purpose is to educate the public about the proposed Hotel Limitation Measure and the negative consequences its passage would bring to the City of Sonoma,” says the organization’s website.

The site also says that “working together with neighbors and residents to oppose and defeat this measure” they hope to “uphold the integrity of our existing General Plan and maintain a realistic standard for hotel occupancy within City limits.”

"This is the third misstep by our opponents in their campaign: first the phony 'poll', then the phony 'community group' and now the phony 'community volunteer'," pointed out Barnett.  

Patch would like to know if anyone received this doorknob-hanger in the past few days, or any other overtures from the Protect Sonoma group. We are interested in giving both sides of this issue fair representation.