SAFFORD — The backers of the Yes on 401 campaign held two public meetings Tuesday, to answer questions from the public on what’s at stake with Proposition 401 and raise an important question: who is behind the effort to stop business in Graham County?
“It’s back to, who are the people doing this? Who are the people funding the no side of the proposition, and when will they unveil themselves so we can actually sit down and have a debate?” said Bryant Ambelang, executive chairman for NatureSweet.
Ambelang explained why his company sought approval from the Graham County Board of Supervisors to re-zone two Bonita greenhouse complexes in order to sell the complexes to Bayacan for the growing of medical-grade cannabis.
“The reason we’re doing this is because that is a world-class facility. Obviously, it’s a huge facility for this county, a huge facility for the State of Arizona but, at the time it was built, it was a world-class facility,” he said. “The opportunity to keep that open, and to keep what was upwards of 1,400 jobs at its height, is the aim of this.”
The sale is needed, he said, because growing the single crop of tomatoes is no longer tenable due to disease pressure. By diversifying the crops grown in the greenhouse complexes, there is less risk of loss due to disease.
NatureSweet currently pays about $1.3 million in taxes — payment Ambelang said his company has never missed, even with no operation over the past year. However, that amount will drop significantly if the greenhouses are dismantled and the land left vacant.
But if the re-zoning is affirmed by the voters, NatureSweet’s taxes will continue to be paid at the levy rate for an operational business. Additionally, Bayacan is projecting that, after its first six years of operation, it will generate 457 new jobs and another $99.1 million of estimated economic impact to Graham County.
Ambelang talked about how greenhouse operations uses about 90 percent less water than open air farming, and that NatureSweet has offered to place deed restrictions on the properties sold to Bayacan to ensure only approved operations are conducted at the greenhouse sites.
A Maricopa County group calling itself Respect The Will Of The People: Graham County Voters & The Arizona Public Integrity Alliance Encourages A No Vote On Massive Marijuana Expansion In Our Area submitted enough qualifying signatures to put before the voters final approval of the supervisors’ decision to re-zone Sites 5 and 6 at the greenhouse complexes in Bonita.
The chairman of the referendum campaign is George Khalaf, who is a managing partner of The Resolute Group, a Maricopa County “public relations, campaigns, strategic consulting, direct mail” company that is “advancing conservative values,” according to its website.
A yes vote on Prop 401 will affirm the supervisors’ decision and the re-zoning will stand. A no vote will overturn the supervisors’ decision and the properties will not be re-zoned.
The election will take place Tuesday, Nov. 8, and the last day to register is Tuesday, Oct. 11.
Early voting begins Tuesday, Oct. 12, and the last day to request an early ballot by mail is Friday, Oct. 28.
