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Kayce Roberts
David Pyle
Poli Sci 1 Th 6:15-9:00
April 15, 2008
The Well-Known Wal-Mart Struggle

Wal-Mart is a business that contains an ever increasing amount of power. College

Professor David Pyle defines power as, the ability of the power holder to modify the behavior
of others in relationship to what the power holder wants. Wal-Mart uses its power to expand its
business across the United States and into other countries as well. As a company, they boast of
their always low prices. Always. Its affordable products, one-stop shopping, and friendly
customer service have helped Wal-Mart cement its place in modern cities everywhere. However,
all is not well when it comes to the publics opinion of Wal-Mart. Many citizens in the
aforementioned modern cities and communities oppose the conglomerates expansion, and have
banded together to utilize their political power in an effort to keep the store out of their towns.
This has created a power struggle. While more and more American cities are allowing Wal-Mart
to move in, its presence can be seen as both beneficial and harmful to the people and the
economy.
In October of 2007, Wal-Mart announced plans to build a Super Center in Suisun City,
California. The small city is tucked between Travis Air Force Base and Fairfield, where a WalMart already exists. At the eastern edge of Suisun, which runs along Highway 12, there are 20.8
acres of undeveloped land set aside for commercial use. Bordering this plot on two sides are
well-established residential neighborhoods, on the third side is the run-way of Travis Air Force

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Base, and on the fourth side is Highway 12. As with most cases in which a Wal-Mart is about to
move in, the residents of Suisun City quickly divided over the issue. Some citizens saw the
benefits of the grocery-retail store while others could only focus on the negative aspects such as
increased traffic and unwanted crowds. Even with the proposal approved and Wal-Mart ready to
move in, the citizens who voted against Wal-Mart refused to have their voices go unheard. Many
attempts are now being made to overturn the decision made by the Suisun City Council, and to
keep Wal-Mart out of the area. This is a struggle that Wal-Mart is more than used to. Since 1962,
when Sam Walton opened his first store in Arkansas, Wal-Mart has been butting heads with
concerned opponents. This struggle is not only an old one, it is one that stays relatively static
from town to town; the complaints against Wal-Mart stay the same and so do the counterpoints.
For this reason the issue may be generalized, and specific examples may be drawn from a
singular, recent case: the struggle in Suisun City.
Possibly the most debated issue concerning Wal-Mart is whether the retail giant takes
jobs and business from local mom and pop stores. Opponents to Wal-Mart claim that when a
new store moves into a town, business is drawn away from smaller specialty stores, some of
which have been held in families and the town for generations. In his article Big-Box Stores:
Are They Good for America, Brian Hansen reports that a study by the National Trust for
Historic Preservation found that 84 percent of all sales at new Wal-Mart stores came at the
expense of existing businesses within the same county. When Wal-Mart moves in and brings its
cheap product and convenient one-stop shopping, it soon becomes more appealing to shop there
verses local shops which maintain relatively high prices. Residents of a Wal-Mart inhabited town
would rather get all of their shopping done in one place where they can get more for their money,
and small specialty stores are the ones that suffer because of it. It is because of this reason that

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towns intent on maintaining their small town charm are more likely to resist Wal-Mart, as is
the case with Suisun City.
On the other hand, those that support Wal-Mart point out the benefits of having the retail
giant in a town. These supporters often state that [Wal-Mart] is merely giving the customer what
it wants, (Hansen 6). The promise of low prices and a variety of items is what draws customers
to Wal-Mart. The free parking and friendly and helpful customer service only add to the
shoppers experience. Within the average Wal-Mart building, which is approximately the size of
a football field, thousands of customers a day hand their dollars over to Sam Waltons company
and do not find themselves morally reprehensible. Wal-Marts vice president of corporate affairs,
Robert S. McAdams says that its not about whether youre small or large; its about listening to
your customers. Business that dont change and dont adapt to their customers interests are the
ones that may not succeed (Hansen 6). Although Wal-Mart puts small business in a dangerous
position where they may or may not survive, it also allows them the chance to reorganize
themselves and turn into a specialty store. If a small business starts to offer goods or services that
Wal-Mart does not, they are able to secure themselves a spot within the town once again. It is
because of this that Wal-Mart supporters claim that survival of a small business is based on
whether or not the business owner is flexible and willing to change a little bit. This, they claim, is
a logical way for big-box store Wal-Mart, and small town stores to cohabitate happily. Residents
of Suisun City, which relies heavily on business conducted in its downtown marina and
waterfront business district, argue that Wal-Mart and its privately owned businesses cannot
conduct business in the same city. They fear the loss of their small shops, and eventually the loss
of their small town charm.
While the above issue is an important factor in the residents rejection of the proposed

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Wal-Mart Super Center, it is Suisun Citys proximity to an air base that gave the residents the
necessary situation to utilize their political power and stand in opposition to the company. In
November of 2007, the Solano County Air Port Land Use Commission (ALUC), which was
formed in 1971 and serves 898 square miles and 377,000 people, declared that the 20.8 acre plot
on Walters Road and Highway 12 was an unfit location for a Wal-Mart Super Center. Their
reasons for making this decision was that the proposed 230,000 square feet of commercial space,
the 215,000 square foot Wal-Mart, the fuel station/mini-mart, the 8,000 square foot sit-down
restaurant, and the accompanying parking does not meet certain regulations. As reported in an
article by Carol Bogart in the January 30, 2008 edition of the Daily Republic, the ALUC is
quoted as determining that the site is not consistent with the mission of the base for safety and
other reasons, namely an airplane needing to crash into that parcel if something went wrong
soon after take-off (Wal-Mart 6). This ruling effectively stopped Wal-Mart from building there
Super Center on the parcel of land. With no Wal-Mart, the opponents in Suisun City would have
successfully used their power to get the results that they had wanted.
However, Suisuns city council was unhappy with the ALUCs ruling and made plans to
override it. Residents said that if the council votes to override the ALUC, it will be a betrayal
of the many residents who vehemently oppose the Wal-Mart project (Wal-Mart 19). The council
members of Suisun City went to R. Austin Wiswell, who was the chief of Caltrans Aeronautics
Division from 1999 until 2005, for a different opinion. In a February 13, 2008 edition of the
Daily Republic, Bogart reports that Wiswell, who stated that he helped develop Californias
Airport Land Use training handbook sat and watched aircraft approaches from a spot across the
street from the proposed plot (No Vote 5). After watching the plans for some time, Wiswell noted
that no planes flew over the area, and that a plane crashing into the super center is not likely

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(No Vote 6). After Wiswells input, the Suisun Citys environmental attorney, Jim Moose, told
the council at the start of the meeting that it was city staffs strong view that the council should
override the ALUC and approve the project (No Vote 8). In a Janurary 23, 2008 Daily Republic
article, Travis Air Base officials backed the city council when they announced that they had "no
public safety concerns regarding the proximity of a runway to the proposed site of a Wal-Mart
Super Center" (Travis Counters 1). Further aiding the city council's wishes, the article quotes
Suisun City Community Development Director Heather McCollister as saying that "this project
will not adversely impact the mission of the base" (Travis Counters 5). This input allowed
Suisun's city council to override the initial vote, and the Wal-Mart on Walters Road and Highway
12 was approved.
Meanwhile, the residents who opposed the Wal-Mart were upset that their input was
ignored have responded in many ways, one of which has been writing letters to the editor of the
Daily Republic. Cheryl Bellrose, a resident of Rio Vista wrote a letter on March 8, 2008, stating
that the fact that "the City Council of Suisun is desperate for more income is understandable, but
not at the cost of the people they portend to represent (Bellrose 6). Other residents have started
a group called Save Our Suisun, or S.O.S. This group wants to recall the five council
members who voted unanimously to override the ALUCs ruling, claiming in a February 14,
2008 Daily Republic Article that the council didnt listen to the citizens (Wal-Mart Opponents
5). In an effort to get their voices heard, residents who participate in the S.O.S. group are going
house to house with a petition. It is the hope of this group to present the signatures in an attempt
to get the council members to, first of all, take a listen to what their constituents have to say, and
secondly to leave their positions as city council members behind. Al Norman, the man behind a
popular "anti-sprawl" website urges Suisun City residents to realize that "a Wal-Mart supercenter

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is incompatible with Suisun's small town character. It will kill the city's New Urbanist dreams.
The Airport Land Use Commission was right: there is no need to compromise public safety for
another Wal-Mart," and then he asks them to write letters to their representatives (Norman).
Of course, not all Suisun City residents are upset at the city council's decision. Supporters
who reside in Suisun City see the new Wal-Mart as an opportunity for the city to gain much
needed tax revenue. Marilyn George, a fifteen year old Suisun City resident "liked that her sales
taxes will stay in her own community" (Wal-Mart Opponents 13). Another hope is that it will
bring in more jobs. Suisun City resident, Penny Hernandez was quoted as saying that her 13-year
old daughter "may one day benefit from having a place to work" (Wal-Mart 18). Citizens are also
looking forward to the convenient one-stop shopping, and the improvement to traffic safety
conditions along Highway 12.
In a New York Times article by Michael Barbaro, Wal-Mart is said to be "the nation's
largest company, with 1.9 million employees worldwide," and that "it has more than 4,100 stores
in the U.S. and more than 3,100 abroad" (Barbaro). With figures like these and a track record that
reaches back to 1962, it is plain to see that whether Wal-Mart is not going to disappear any time
soon. The only thing more certain that Wal-Marts place in contemporary society are its
opponents; as long as Wal-Mart continues to put up new stores there will be citizens trying to
keep the doors from opening.

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Works Cited

Barbaro, Michael. "In Wal-Mart We Trust?" New York Times. Proquest. Solano Community
College Library. 14 April 2008. <http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?
did=1438888161&sid=3&Fmt=3&clientID=46028&RQT=309&VName=PQD>
Bellrose, Cheryl. Letter. Daily Republic [Fairfield] 8 March 2008.
Bogart, Carol. No Vote Yet on Wal-Mart. Daily Republic [Fairfield] 13 Feb. 2008. A1+.
---. Wal-Mart Edges Closer to Reality. Daily Republic [Fairfield] 30 Jan. 2008. A1+.
---. Wal-Mart Opponents Not Retreating. Daily Republic [Fairfield] 14 Feb. 2008. A1+.
Hansen, Brian. "Big Box Stores: Are they good for America?" CQResearcher. Solano
Community College Library. 11 March 2008
<http://library.cqpress.com/cqresearcher/cqresrre2004091000>.
Norman, Al. Citizens Group Appeals Wal-Mart Approval in Court. 14 March 2008.
<http://www.sprawl-busters.com/index.html>
Pyle, David. Class lecture on power and politics. Solano Community College. 31 Jan. 2008.