Ballot Pamphlet Flap: The California Small Business...

Ballot Pamphlet Flap: The California Small Business Assn. is smarting from a quote in the state ballot pamphlet implying that the group supports Proposition 210, which would raise the California minimum wage. The CSBA, a nonprofit group with 125,000 members, has taken no position on the measure, but its name ended up prominently displayed among supporters listed under the rebuttal portion of the anti-210 argument. Scott Hauge, CSBA vice president, is quoted as saying small business is not “on the bandwagon against a minimum wage increase.” The statement came from a newspaper article on the federal minimum wage increase. Hauge said he never talked to Proposition 210 supporters about the proposed state increase except to tell them the CSBA wouldn’t take a position. Richard Holober, campaign director for Proposition 210, said the quote is not misleading but that his group should have specified that it came from a newspaper.