Cruz Baca Sembello feels under siege by City Hall, in danger of losing the modest Baldwin Park home that she and her parents have lived in for decades.
The San Gabriel Valley city is threatening to use its powers of eminent domain to force the sale of the home, with plans to raze it and several others to make way for a large shopping center.
"We understand that Baldwin Park needs revitalization, but it isn't fair that big business and the mayor and City Council can just bulldoze someone's home for a mall and we don't have any alternatives," she said.
Sembello's story is cited by property rights activists as an example of why state voters should restrict eminent domain powers in California. But what began as a campaign to prevent the taking of homes for private development has turned into a bitter political dispute. Now state voters are being asked to choose between two competing initiatives on the June 3 ballot.
One measure, Proposition 98, has drawn opposition from tenant groups because it would also phase out rent control in California. Placed on the ballot by groups representing taxpayers, property owners and farmers, that measure would broadly prohibit the taking of private property -- including farmland and commercial sites -- for private use.
The other initiative, Proposition 99, was put on the ballot by associations representing cities, counties and redevelopment agencies. It is limited to barring the taking of homes for private development.
The multimillion-dollar campaigns for and against Propositions 98 and 99 are among the highest-profile political contests on a ballot that also features primary contests for dozens of congressional posts, state Senate and Assembly seats and local ballot measures aimed at boosting funding for school districts.
The propositions "are on the ballot just as the mortgage meltdown is drawing attention to the broader issue of housing," said John J. Pitney Jr., a professor of politics at Claremont McKenna College. "Some former homeowners are joining the ranks of renters, and they might think twice about a proposal that would end rent control."
A national battle over eminent domain has been raging since a 2005 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court against Susette Kelo, a Connecticut woman who was fighting government efforts to take her small house for a redevelopment project. The court upheld the right of governments to take homes for commercial development.
