Investigation into petition signatures in Salinas casts suspicion all around.

There was one unremarkable day back in June when Sam Messenger of Salinas took his usual walk to the Cherry Bean coffee house on a Saturday, during the Oldtown farmers market. He noticed a sign about rent control; he knew there was an effort to gather signatures for a referendum seeking to restore rent control and other tenant protections in Salinas, and he supported it. So he approached a signature-gatherer, engaged in a brief and not particularly memorable discussion, signed the petition, and walked on.

Fast-forward four months to another unremarkable day, Monday, Oct. 13. Messenger was at home when a stranger knocked on the door, who introduced herself as District Attorney Investigator Rebecca Ayala. Messenger was immediately curious. “It was a remarkable occurrence on an otherwise unremarkable day,” he says.

Mostly, he says, Ayala wanted to know if the petition team had offered him anything in exchange for his signature. “She asked me questions about date, time, place,” Messenger says. “I told her a whole lot of, ‘I don’t really remember.’ I certainly was not offered cash or a cash equivalent.”

The District Attorney’s Office declined to speak about this pending investigation, or even to acknowledge its existence. But City Councilmember Andrew Sandoval – who supported the suite of renter protections that his council colleagues later overturned – says he has heard from multiple signatories that they’ve been approached with similar questions by investigators.

While the DA is investigating what is presumably a credible complaint, if they’re knocking on many doors – thousands of people signed – Sandoval sees a worrisome potential impact. “These recent actions risk creating a chilling effect on democracy by discouraging residents from participating in the petition process,” he says. “This could suppress voter turnout and deter people from exercising their constitutional rights.”

Messenger was not intimidated, although it’s easy to imagine how others could be; months after you sign a petition, an officer shows up at the door to ask some questions.

It’s also easy to imagine how the snacks that often accompanied organizers from the group Protect Salinas Renters could have been offered up to somebody signing. Free tacos and loaded baked potatoes at one event might have been meant to fuel volunteers for signature-gathering – but then got handed out to a petition-signer. It’s hard to imagine it was ever intended as a quid-pro-quo – someone would sign only if they got a potato? – or that it constitutes actual bribery (the California Penal Code on commercial bribery defines the amount as at least $250). On the other hand, if it did happen, it crossed a line.

“I certainly was not offered cash.”

In a letter dated June 30, Jamie Estrada filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission against Protect Salinas Renters. Estrada described attending a public event around 3:30pm on Saturday, June 28 at 335 East Alisal St. (the location of a furniture store). According to the letter, Estrada spoke to Matt Huerta, a housing advocate and member of the group pursuing the referendum.

“Mr. Huerta offered me free food after I began asking questions and discussing the referendum,” Estrada wrote. “However, when my friend – who did not engage or sign the petition – attempted to receive food, she was told she had to pay and that the free food was only available to individuals who ‘sign or participate’ in the referendum.”

If true – I was unable to reach Estrada, and Huerta did not respond – it’s certainly a cringe-worthy misstep. Even more cringe-worthy: Luci Rodriguez (who I also could not reach) wrote an identical letter on the same date. It makes the whole thing feel like a coordinated campaign, perhaps politically motivated, more than a good-faith effort to raise an alarm about the bribery potential of a baked potato.

As Messenger says, “It seems as equally likely to me as the committee did something untoward as they are being retaliated against by some powers that be. I am beyond being surprised at this point.”

Everything advocates say and do will be scrutinized as this long-running political battle comes to a head. This is just the beginning of this chapter, with the referendum set to appear on Salinas ballots in 2026.

SARA RUBIN is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com.