Staff’s blog
Those were the words of Shannon Thomason of the Big Spring, TX Concerned Citizens
Council. Trevor Ford and I traveled to Big Spring this week to find out why the city council went so far as to violate Texas public meeting law to hold an emergency meeting to prevent a tax rollback from making the citywide ballot.
When we heard about the trouble that folks in Big Spring, Texas were having with the city council stifling their petition rights, we decided to head down to the Lone Star state and see if we could help out.
It looks as though the citizens of Louisiana are going to try and use a recall petition on Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu. The right to recall an elected official is something Citizens in Charge Foundation supports. There aren’t usually as many high profile stories in the world of recall, but every now and then a prominent official is subjected to recall, this will be interesting to watch.
Nebraska resident Kent Bernbeck has filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s ban on paying campaign workers who circulate petitions by the signature and requirement that petition circulators be over the age of 18.
Collecting hundreds of thousands of signatures to place an initiative on the ballot is a tough task that may get easier in the future. A company in Silicon Valley recently unveiled a new smart-phone application that would allow a citizen to sign a petition electronically. Instead of signing a petition in a grocery store parking lot, a citizen could sign it in the comfort of their own home.
This has raised legal questions of course, and California state officials will need to figure out if signing a petition via phone complies with the law.
Late last year we noted that an initiative out in Denver, Colorado will be on the ballot this year to creat a UFO Commission to educate people about the possibility of extra-terrestrials. This initiative has gotten some press and the man behind the initiative is now calling on President Obama to “tear down the wall of UFO secrecy.”
What do you think should be done about this issue?
I put this up on our newswire this morning, but thought I would mention it here in the blog as well. Activists in Spain gathered nearly 200,000 signatures in order to get a vote in the Catalan parliament to ban bullfighting.
People around the country have been fighting against speed and red light cameras ever since they started dotting intersections and roadsides in the 1990’s. In many states this policy debate is moving to the ballot, where initiative and referendum rights are able to give voters a voice on an issue that is often decided by unelected law enforcement and highway officials.
Here’s an interesting article from The Colorado Independent about three tax initiatives that will go to the voters for approval next year. The initiatives have caused quite a debate in Colorado and are now becoming a big part of the race for governor.
I just wanted to reflect on a few thoughts I had for next year, it being New Year’s Eve and all. 2010 looks to be an exciting year, and I too, am quite excited for what it will hold. I think that this coming year will be a great one for initiative & referendum rights. The nation is sick of both parties, the government and bureaucracy, and just want their voices to be heard.
Here’s an article I ran across in The Sacramento Bee about the initiative process in California. It’s an interesting read, and discusses the costs associated with taking advantage of your initiative and referendum rights. Check it out.
Becoming a member of the Citizens in Charge Foundation team would be a great way to start off 2010. This next year we will be expanding our message and our programs and we need the help of passionate citizens like yourself. 2010 will be a great year to work on protecting and expanding initiative and referendum rights. Please consider joining us for a great year. Join Today!
Citizens in Charge Foundation would like to wish you and yours Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas.