Wal-Mart has mailed thousands of brochures to neighbors of three proposed stores in Snohomish County in an attempt to bolster community support.
The nearly identical mailings have been sent to households around Arlington, Marysville and Mill Creek. The brochures tout the number of jobs and the economic impact the stores would have, adding that “Wal-Mart is a good neighbor!”
| While three proposed Wal-Marts for Snohomish County are stalled in the public hearings process, the first Wal-Mart store in Everett is gearing up to open next month. Jennifer Holder, Wal-Mart’s local spokeswoman, said the store on the west side of Highway 99 just south of 112th Street SW is scheduled to open May 17. The specific opening time will be announced in the coming weeks. |
A number of people living near the store sites disagree. Proposed Wal-Mart Supercenters on 172nd Street NE in Arlington and 64th Street NE in Marysville are being appealed by opponents. An appeals hearing for a smaller Wal-Mart planned on 132nd Street SE in Mill Creek has been continued until next week.
Lillian Kaufer, a Mill Creek area resident who has helped lead opposition to the 132nd Street store, said she’s not surprised by Wal-Mart’s mass mailing.
“They do this everywhere they’re trying to get stores,” she said.
On that point, she and Jennifer Holder, Wal-Mart’s public affairs representative for the Northwest, agree.
“We do mailings like this all the time,” Holder said. “It’s pretty standard.”
In fact, Wal-Mart created its own national grass-roots group late last year and hired a global public relations firm to help improve the image of the company. Similar mass mailings by Wal-Mart have been reported in other communities where the retailer is trying to gain approval for new stores.
The fliers note that Wal-Mart employs more than 16,000 Washington state residents, paying an average wage of $10.61 an hour. It also cites the company’s charitable donations in the state.
Residents who receive the brochure can check a return postcard to indicate that they “fully support” the proposed stores, or they can write their own comments. Holder said “in general, we receive a pretty positive response.”
It’s unclear what Wal-Mart plans to do with the responses from the flier. Holder said it’s possible they could be used to show public support for the stores at public hearings.
Kaufer, who has helped collect more than 4,000 signatures for a petition opposing the Mill Creek Wal-Mart, said the fliers ignore the fact that hundreds of Wal-Mart employees and their families rely on basic health care benefits from the state.
“It’s propaganda to tell everyone ‘we’re going to bring X number of jobs.’ They don’t tell you how much it will cost the county and state in benefits,” she said, adding that the retailer may get back some responses it may not appreciate.
“Everybody I’ve talked to is sending it back and writing they don’t want the store,” she said.
Holder said Wal-Mart is accustomed to such opposition. She suggested that the groups aren’t representative of the larger community.
“Especially since they all have the same attorney paid for by the same source,” Holder said.
Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@ heraldnet.com.
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