Anti-camera measures gain support
Voter initiatives to outlaw photo enforcement gained a second wind this week in Texas and Washington state as enough signatures have been gathered to force the issue onto the November ballot. In both Baytown, Texas and Mukilteo, Washington, organizers required a renewed effort to meet all of the legal requirements. Later today in the Lone Star State, SaferBaytown.com leader Byron Schirmbeck will turn in a second batch of signatures to the city clerk’s office. “Under this taxation through citation program the drivers in Baytown have been subjected to an increase in certain types of accidents, decriminalization of red light running, dangerously short yellow lights, improper notices of violations and questionable at best constitutional violations including due process, equal protection under the law and presumption of innocence,” Schirmbeck said in a statement. “We believe the cameras have more to do with revenue than safety and we intend to prove it. Our initiative petition, if passed, will remove the profit motive from the cameras.”