MINIMUM WAGE AND MARIJUANA INITIATIVES MAKE IT ON THE BALLOT

Money and marijuana are on the November ballot.

County Clerk Gail Pellerin announced Tuesday that the required number
of signatures had been collected for two initiatives -- one that
would boost the minimum wage to $9.25 an hour in the city of Santa
Cruz and an another that would make marijuana offenses the lowest
priority of the Santa Cruz Police Department.

Two community groups -- Working Alliance for a Just Economy and Santa
Cruz Citizens for Responsible Marijuana Policy -- turned in some
6,000 signatures to county elections officials in April, more than
the 3,300 signatures of registered city voters needed to qualify the
issues for the ballot.

The progressive marijuana and minimum wage proposals promise to be
among the most debated topics during the fall campaign season, likely
to define the City Council race and drive a wedge between liberals.

Both need a simple majority to pass.

"I'm normally supportive of wage increases," Councilman Mike Rotkin
said Wednesday. "But I don't think this was really thought out. It
doesn't make sense for one city of 55,000 people to increase the minimum wage."

Local business owners fear a mandatory wage hike only in Santa Cruz
would create an "island economy" and dramatically reduce available
jobs, benefits and hours of operation. A study commissioned by the
Locally Owned Business Alliance, released Tuesday, showed the higher
wage would cost businesses in Santa Cruz $12.5 million in the first year.

But Nora Hochman of Working Alliance for a Just Economy said "it's a
crime" not to pay at least $9.25 an hour for entry-level workers,
even waiters and others making tips.

The group's proposal represents a 37 percent increase over the state
minimum wage of $6.75 an hour. A person working full-time for $9.25
an hour would earn an annual salary of $19,000, still considered a
low wage in Santa Cruz.

Hochman, a Soquel resident, says it's the minimum wage workers who
help business owners produce profits.

"Why is the work of a person who scoops and serves ice cream
diminished when they produce profit for people who don't do that
work?" she said.

Hochman said the alliance will be working to raise money, most of
which will be spent on printed material to spread their message.

Kris Reyes, a founding member of the Locally Owned Business Alliance,
expects his group to spend up to $40,000 persuading voters not to
support the wage initiative.

"We're going to spend a lot of time walking door to door, calling
voters on the phone and doing everything we can to make sure voters
fully understand the impacts," Reyes said. "We'll be focusing on what
it means to the locally owned independent business."

The push to make marijuana offenses a low priority for Santa Cruz
police is part of a statewide effort to build support for changing
state law to legalize the drug's use by adults, proponent Andrea
Tischler said. Similar proposals have been made in Santa Barbara,
Santa Monica and West Hollywood.

Instead, Tischler said police should focus on violent crimes.

"We should be able to direct police to work on things we consider
important," Tischler said. "We're talking about private use of
marijuana. We're not talking about using it on the mall or minors or
people driving a car."

Police say the marijuana initiative defies their oath to uphold state
law, which states the drug is illegal except in special medical cases.

"In Santa Cruz, marijuana is very prolific. It plays some factor in a
number of crimes," police Lt. Steve Clark said. "It's dangerous when
you come up with something to criminalize law enforcement officers
for enforcing the law.

"We'd end up having to defend ourselves for what we're sworn to do."