Colver

Appellant Jay Clair Colver was convicted of violating Elections Code section 29740, which prohibits the solicitation of money for the represented purpose of fraudulently inducing the proponents of an initiative measure to (a) abandon the measure, (b) fail, neglect, or refuse to timely file the measure after securing the requisite signatures, (c) stop the circulation of the measure, or (d) perform any act which would prevent or aid in preventing the measure from qualifying.

Appellant contends that section 29740 applies only to statewide initiatives and not to a local initiative as was involved in the instant case. Therefore, he argues, his conduct was not prohibited. He further alleges that the court erred in its instruction to the jury defining a proponent of an initiative, and that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction.

In the fall of 1977, a local initiative measure, the “Hillside Initiative,” was proposed in Walnut Creek. The measure would have rezoned certain areas, prohibiting building on ridge tops and otherwise regulating hillside building.

Terra California, the company responsible for the adult community of Rossmoor Development, concluded the…