10,316 / 59.8% Yes votes ...... 6,921 / 40.2% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

The results of this advisory vote will provide an indication of general voter opinion regarding the issue of fluoridation but will not be controlling on the City Council, who will ultimately decide the issue. As an advisory vote, this measure has no effect on existing law.

A "Yes" vote on Measure "O" indicates the voter favors fluoridating the City of Mountain View's municipal water supply.

A ''No'' vote on Measure "O" indicates the voter is against fluoridating the City of Mountain View's municipal water supply.

MICHAEL D. MARTELLO
City Attorney

By: JANNIE L. QUINN
Assistant City Attorney

City of Mountain View

• Live Election Results

San Francisco Chronicle

• Mountain View To Vote on Putting Fluoride in Water 10/22/98

Don't be fooled by misleading arguments. Consider these important facts:

• More than 145 million people in the United States already enjoy the benefits of fluoridated water.

• Most Bay Area cities fluoridated long ago. Right next door, Palo Alto has been fluoridated since 1954. And almost 90% of the residents in San Mateo, San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties have fluoridated water.

• Fluoridation is supported by individuals and organizations who are knowledgeable and trustworthy: the American Medical Association, the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the World Health Organization, the California PTA (Parent-Teacher

• Numerous studies have documented the safety and effectiveness of water fluoridation since its introduction in 1945. We have more than 50 years of evidence that water fluoridation makes sense.

• Experience in other communities shows a 20-40% reduction in tooth decay for children and adults in fluoridated areas.

• The California Dental Association estimates that every dollar invested in fluoridation saves $140 in dental bills.

• And Mountain View's Measure "O" is even more of a bargain. At least 85% of the cost will come from outside sources, not Mountain View taxpayers.

On November 3, voters will have the opportunity to choose the single most effective way of promoting dental health - water fluoridation. Fluoridation is simple, safe and cost effective.

Vote Yes on Measure "O".

BERNICE OTUDEKO, Health Educator

ART TAKAHARA, Former Mayor

Dr. SANDRA ARITA, Mid-Peninsula Dental Society

After decades of experimentation, Europe, with its own medical, dental and scientific communities, is 98% fluoridation-free.

If the issue of fluoridation were truly about access to fluoride, rather than industry ridding itself of expensive-to-treat hazardous waste ($1.40/gallon), fluoride could have been distributed in salt more that fifty years ago, just as France does.

A 1993 government toxicology study reported that fluoride accumulates in bone, teeth, brain and other tissues, and identified especially susceptible groups as:

• pregnant women

• infants

• elderly

• diabetics

• those with heart and kidney disease

• the malnourished

The head dental officer of Alameda County reported, September 1997, "dental disease is epidemic in Oakland and Alameda County". That county has been 91% fluoridated since 1976.

In an endorsement supporting the prohibition of fluoridation, NTEU, Chapter 280, the union that consists of and represents all scientists and professionals at EPA Heaquarters, Washington, D.C. concluded:

"The most recent toxicity data demonstrate to us a causative link between fluoride exposures and neurotoxity (including diminished I.Q. in children and hyperactivity), genetic damage, bone pathology (including increased rates of hip fracture...), and cancer (including bone cancer in young men)...

"To continue the practice (of fluoridating drinking water) in the face of recent findings is an irresponsible gamble..."

BILLIE BAREWALD, R.N.

MARK N. CHRISTENSON

Some chemicals, chlorine for example, are added to water to protect us from diseases carried in the water. Fluoride is the only chemical added to water to affect people, rather than to improve water quality or safety.

The chemical used to fluoridate water is not naturally occurring calcium fluoride. It is a toxic by-product of the phosphate fertilizer industry that, if not destined for our water, is required to be treated at great expense by a hazardous waste facility.

Independent laboratory analyses show that juices, sodas, cereals, baby foods, and some milks, found in Mountain View neighborhood stores, contain levels of fluoride equal to and greater than the amount suggested for our water. Impoverished children are not suffering from dental decay because of a lack of access to fluoride.

Read the new poison-label warning required on all toothpastes that contain fluoride. The warning instructs you to keep fluoride products out of the reach of children under six years of age, and to contact a poison control center immediately if you should swallow more than the amount used for brushing (approximately the amount of fluoride in one liter of fluoridated water).

Individuals do vary in their susceptibility to chemicals, and fluoride cannot be removed by filtration. Citizens should not be forced to abandon the public water supply.

Before you decide, examine the evidence. A binder of literature entitled "Fluoridation" is available at the city library reference desk and the city clerk's office.

Protect the safety of our water and our right to choose. Vote No on Fluoridation.

BILLIE BAREWALD, R.N.
Member, Mountain View Citizens for Safe Drinking Water

MARK N. CHRISTENSON
Member, Mountain View Citizens for Safe Drinking Water

Over the years, opponents have called fluoride everything from a communist plot to the cause of AIDS -- whatever they thought would scare people most. But there is no legitimate basis for opponents' claims, which Consumer Reports magazine dismissed as "hokum...lies... false claims... (and) baseless."

Regrettably, Measure O's opponents continue this unfortunate tradition. They deliberately use scary words like "toxic... hazardous waste... (and) poison," but then turn right around and acknowledge that fluoride is commonly found in "juices, sodas, cereals, baby foods, and some milks, found in Mountain View neighborhood stores"!

In fact, fluoride occurs naturally in our water; sometimes too little, sometimes too much. Measure O simply ensures that the fluoride in our water will be carefully monitored and adjusted to provide the ideal level.

The truth is, fifty years of research and experience proves beyond all reasonable doubt that fluoridated water is healthy, safe and responsible. And, fluoride provides significant benefits for everyone -- kids, adults and seniors.

That's why the San Jose Mercury News calls Mountain View's fluoridation project "a good step," noting that "scientific studies over the past half-century have confirmed the value of fluoridation..."

That's why more than 145 million Americans, including most of the Bay Area, have had fluoridated water for years.

That's why the California Legislature, by large margins on a bipartisan basis, recently passed a law requiring water in our state to be fluoridated (and why the Governor signed it).

And that's why we urge you, vote Yes on Measure O.

DR. KENNETH S. VERESCHAGIN	BERNICE OTUDEKO
Pediatrician	Health Educator

ART TAKAHARA	DR. SANDRA ARITA
Former Mayor	Mid-Peninsula Dental Society