I’ve been reading some more of the “No on S” stuff from the billboard preservationists – the folks whose “no” vote would keep all of the ugly billboards around town – and I must admit they deserve a lot of credit for what they are writing. It would be filed in the Fiction section of a bookstore.

The first thing they always say is, “We could have gotten a better deal.” Really? Prove it. The city negotiated for the leasing of land for the electronic billboards and had nothing at all to do with the company (Allvision) that Metrolink picked. Did Metro send out bids for that job? Don’t know.

What we do know is this:

1. Since the founding of Santa Clarita, there has been a dream of eliminating billboards citywide. It was going to be an expensive dream. The “deal” worked out actually brings money into the city and gets rid of dozens – repeat, dozens – of those massive eyesores.

2. The proposed locations for the three (count ‘em, three) electronic billboards are on land that is approved for such use – in spite of what the billboard preservationists say.

3. Not a single member of the City Council will benefit from this ordinance.

Why is it OK for the folks who started this billboard preservation project to use paid petition gatherers – paid for by the likes of Clear Channel and the Outdoor Advertising Council – yet it isn’t OK for Allvision to pay people to attempt to stop the gathering of signatures? Really – if you owned a business that some people were attempting to stop, wouldn’t you take measures, legal measures, to stifle them?

One of the billboards slated for removal under Measure S.

And let’s get this straight: The Clear Channel and other Outdoor Advertising folks spent more than $100,000 to gather the signatures. In some cases, the folks gathering the signatures were being paid $9 for each one. Why is that OK, but it isn’t OK for the folks who want to keep their legally binding deal can’t resist those efforts?

The billboard preservationists claim that they are a “grass roots” organization. I would believe them if they had gathered all of those signatures without ANY paid signature gathers. Some real “grass roots” stuff there, don’t you know.

Another point the same folks try to make is that Allvision supposedly “knows” there is a better deal for the city. How do those folks know that? Allvision is simply the company hired by Metro to install and maintain billboards. It installs billboards when and where Metro tells it do to so, in accordance with its Metro contract.

They also said they “knew” two council members running for reelection – when this hoopla started – were on the take from Allvision and stood to see some property values go up … and look at how one benefitted from Newhall redevelopment and the new library and so forth. Show me the Fair Political Practices investigation. Oh, right. There isn’t one.

I’ll tell you what there is. There is Clear Channel and CBS Outdoor and Lamar and other members of the Outdoor Advertising Council. Don’t think for one minute that they haven’t spent their money to gather signatures and provide the billboard preservationists with signs, mailers and everything else that a “grass roots” group cannot afford. We need to see the books before the election.

Another part of this is how one councilman and a former candidate for council are playing this issue as if they are campaigning for the next election. Both say they are “speaking for the people.” Really? Like when the signers of the petition weren’t told exactly what they were signing?

So we’re going to have an expensive election that the billboard preservationists really didn’t want but asked for and got.

All of the outdoor advertising companies are going to spend a whole bunch more money, and the issue will be decided at last.

Now, should the billboard preservationists get what they want, remember: A chance like this – the deal among Metro, Allvision and the city of Santa Clarita – might not ever come again. There is no guarantee the parties will ever agree to discuss billboard removal in the future. So if anyone thinks a “better deal” is down the road, I wish they would show us where.

The next time you’re waiting on the light at the intersection of Lyons and Railroad and see that huge billboard, thank those people who wanted to stop the deal. As you drive along Railroad and turn onto Soledad, thank them some more. If another sign falls over the tracks like one did earlier this year, only this time a train hits it, thank them for that, too.

Oh, and don’t forget all of the light pollution from those existing billboards. If the folks blocking the “deal” have their way, all of those will be preserved.

We may never get another deal, let alone a better one. Think about that when you vote.

We have a bird in the hand. Those in the bush may prove elusive.

Darryl Manzer grew up in the Pico Canyon oil town of Mentryville in the 1960s and attended Hart High School. After a career in the U.S. Navy he returned to live in the Santa Clarita Valley. He can be reached at dmanzer@scvhistory.com. His older commentaries are archived at DManzer.com; his newer commentaries can be accessed [here]. Watch his walking tour of Mentryville [here].