Citizens in Charge

Never short on examples of the many attempts around the country to take away the peoples’ right to initiative and referendum by gutting the process, Norfolk, VA residents narrowly escaped a doubling of the signature requirement to put measures on the city ballot Wednesday.  Thanks to the strong opposition shown by those activists at a public hearing last month, the council voted the change down Wednesday.

The city council looks to have been trying to pull a fast one, as the change went largely unannounced before a last minute notice drove many activists to the November 17 public hearing. According to one initiative activist, “We got a notice one day that the public hearing is going to be the next day. No one came to us, it just got thrown in there”.

Another activist hits the nail on the head when he notes that it is the power of the initiative process that drives politicians and special interests to want to restrict it:

“I think they’re doing this because they saw what citizens can do [with the initiative process], and they don’t want it to happen again”