Wal-Mart loses LA vote
Inglewood residents reject Supercenter plans
Voters in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood have voted by two-to-one to reject proposals by Wal-Mart to build a large format Supercenter in the town.
The result is a blow for the world’s biggest retailer, which had used California law to call the ballot in the hope of bypassing the city council, which opposed the Supercenter proposal.
Wal-Mart had the support of Inglewood mayor Roosevelt Dorn, who argued the plan would bring employment, investment in community facilities, and greater prosperity through sales taxes.
Wal-Mart has faced opposition to its expansion plans in California in a number of communities. The state is one of the most politically active in the US, with opposition focusing on Wal-Mart’s impact on smaller retailers, as well as it non-union policy.
The Inglewood ballot focused the opposition. The city has a high proportion of black and Hispanic residents, and a rally urging voters to reject Wal-Mart’s plan was addressed by civil right activist Rev Jesse Jackson and representatives of the Nation of Islam organisation.
The ballot showed 33.8 per cent of voters supporting Wal-Mart and 66.1 per cent opposed. Jerome Horton, a state Assemblyman who represents Inglewood, told news agency Reuters: “This was a test site for Wal-Mart.
“This would have set a national precedent and developers all over the nation were watching to see whether or not a developer could exempt themselves from complying with local laws. This was a much bigger issue than just jobs.”
