How it works, Home Depot edition

Kevin Roderick • July 26 2007 8:55 AM

A memo from political adviser Rick Taylor lays out Home Depot's plans to stack a City Council meeting next week with supporters of the store's desire to open a new outlet in the Sunland-Tujunga area. Staging the show, complete with orange t-shirts for everyone, could cost $24,000. Says today's Daily News story:

The two-page memo sheds new light on the high-stakes, behind-the-scenes orchestrations of companies seeking to sway city leaders and win approval for their projects.
"Our goal is to galvanize a critical mass of supporters to attend the hearing to demonstrate visible and vocal community support for The Home Depot," Taylor wrote.

Opponents of the Sunland-Tujunga store have long complained that The Home Depot and its public-relations firm have spent big bucks trying to drown out community opposition to the project, which would transform a vacant Kmart into a home-improvement store.

Taylor vowed to have police investigate how the memo got out, a turn of events he said "our firm will pursue swiftly and with vengeance."

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