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I Did Not Endorse Measure V

By Rena Nayyar

I have recently learned that, without my knowledge or permission, I have been put on an endorsement list for Yes on Measure V (Village Farms).  How did this happen?  I have actively opposed Measure V (Village Farms) from the beginning because of its many problems even though I am a teacher in Davis concerned about school closures. 

I have spoken in opposition to the Village Farms project due to its many impacts at multiple city and school board meetings, the local Sierra Club group, and to the Davis Teacher’s Association.  I have even helped table at the NO booth at the Farmer’s Market, and donated to the No campaign.  So, how could my name have possibly been put on an endorsement list?  How many other “endorsers” are also unknowingly on this Yes on Measure V list as well?  

I have many concerns about Village Farms.  The timeframe for housing won’t help enrollment in time because of delays to fill in the huge floodplain.  Enrollment would likely be lower than stated because the housing would be too expensive for young families with kids and the lack of missing middle housing or guaranteed affordable housing is inconsistent with our housing needs. The developers have spent over $784,000, framing the project with enticing ads and exaggerated or vague promises that don’t match the actual plan we are voting on, which is described in the Baseline Project Features in our Voter Information Guide.  While the developers have donated about $500,000 to schools, isn’t it a serious conflict of interest for the district to now say they’ll close a school if we don’t vote for the developer’s project?  And manipulative to pressure voters this way?  The Davisite article of May 8 shows a lack of transparency by the School District that has yet to be explained.  (https://davisite.org/2026/05/08/lack-of-transparency-in-the-relationship-between-djusd-and-village-farms-developer/)  The promise of a conservation easement to protect the vernal pool’s endangered species is not in the Baseline Project Features.  I have great concerns about the carcinogenic PFAS (“forever chemicals”) leaking to Village Farms from the adjacent old Davis landfill/burn dump and sewage treatment plant.  I have many more concerns, as well.

We don’t need Measure V because:

  • The district has multiple options, including reprioritizing funds, which it has not discussed adequately.
  • We can vote for the Willowgrove housing development of 1,250 housing units in November.  With more detailed plans already in place for design, sustainability, and affordability, it promises to be shovel ready if approved without the Village Farms problems.
  • In addition, over 1,400 housing units are also being built or approved awaiting permitting.
  • If we vote no on V, the developer can resubmit an improved plan quickly by incorporating existing work.  (A plan below Channel A avoids the current problems while still providing about 900 housing units.) 

Regardless of how long the developer families have lived in Davis or how much they’ve donated, I don’t feel that it’s ethical for us to support this process, or a project that risks the health of families (PFAS chemicals) and environmental protections while failing to address affordability.  We have much better alternatives to support our schools.  Please join me in voting NO on V.

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Comments

6 responses to “I Did Not Endorse Measure V”

  1. Barbara Goldman

    Thank you for you post. I helps me when thinking about my vote.

    Reply
  2. Alan Pryor

    I called the Yes campaign about this and they have a sign-in form at their events where Rena clearly and undeniably checked the “Endorse” box by her sign-in name – perhaps by accident. But I saw her at that event myself. The Yes campaign stated they will revove her name from the list and apologized for any misunderstanding.

    Reply
  3. Eileen Samitz

    Ok Alan, Why is Jim Provenza’s name on the endorsement list he was not called not emailed or contacted in any way On top of that he and his wife are opposed to Measure V. They did not attend an Yes on Measure V events. So, how do you explain Jim Provenza’s name on the Yes on V endorsement list.

    Reply
    1. Alan Pryor

      Apparently they received an endorsement email from a Jim P which they mistook for Provenza. The mistake was acknowledged and the name removed from the endorsement list.

      Reply
      1. Eileen Samitz

        Alan,

        Seriously? A “Jim P”. mistaken for a former elected? And nobody bothered to confirm a former electeds “endorsement”? I wonder how many other people, electeds or not, are on your endorsement list actually endorsed or at least were contacted to see if they were interested in endorsing? Looks like you have duplicate endorsers also to beef up the list too. Also, how many endorsers are paid advocates?

        Also, why is the Yes on Measure V May 21, 2026 City campaign filing incomplete? Why isn’t the itemization for the $93,745 expenditure for “Groundwork Management LLC” incomplete, since it does not the information of what this very large expenditure was used for? That is required. If this was being used for paying people to advocate for Yes on Measure V, the information of who was being paid for this advocacy is required to be listed in the filing. Why is this information for $93,745 not explained? What is Yes on Measure V hiding?

  4. Rena Nayyar

    I am glad to see that my name has been removed from the Village Farms endorsement list. I opposed Village Farms from the start and had spoken in opposition to it at many public meetings. I heard about the Super Owl event on 4/8 regarding Yes on Measure V from our PTA newsletter saying people wanting to learn more could come and I had questions about the project. The people tabling said I should sign in so they’d know how many came. I felt pressured to sign in order to go in, so I did, but I would never have knowingly checked a box to endorse. I was told this was just a sign in sheet however, if the only choices on the sheet were to endorse or volunteer then the sheet was being used for recruiting, so people shouldn’t have been told they were just signing in. In fact, one of the Village Farms representatives asked me if I was endorsing and I said, “No”.

    This is important because it is the week before the election. I wanted to clarify right away that I wasn’t endorsing the Village Farms project. I have spent many hours pouring over the city documents on Village Farms and this led me to oppose it. I have done my best to represent the problems of this project accurately and I don’t want to detract from that. The issues to focus on are the many problems with Village Farms and that there are better alternatives.

    Reply

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