California
Mount Shasta’s Measure A will likely not be appearing on this November’s ballot due to issues with the way it was filed, according to a letter drafted by County Clerk Colleen Setzer on Aug. 12. Measure A would create an ordinance “restricting cloud seeding and water exportation, establishing water rights, the right to a healthy environment, creating liability for and restricting rights of corporations, abolishing conflicting private property rights and establishing the ordinance as superior to conflicting state and federal law and imposing liability for violations.”
There are some great pictures of the conferences in San Francisco from Steve Rhodes Flickr account. Check them out if you haven’t done so already, and also make sure to check out our YouTube channel and watch Paul Jacob’s opening speech from the U.S. Conference on Initiative & Referendum.
Election measures for Half Moon Bay were assigned letters on Thursday morning to go on the November ballot. The one-cent sales tax initiative that would provide more revenues for the city has been designated “Measure K”.
Ballot size and election code could mean the difference for an advisory ballot measure that would give Siskiyou County voters a chance to state whether or not dams along the Klamath River should be taken down under the Klamath Hydroelectric Settlement Agreement (KHSA). The ballot measure, put forth by the Siskiyou Water Users Association (SWUA), was first introduced to the board at its Aug. 3 meeting, where the group learned that there may be an issue with adding an advisory measure to the Nov. 2 ballot, which is already full.
Here is the beginning of Citizens in Charge Foundation President Paul Jacob’s opening remarks at the U.S Conference on I&R in San Francisco. It was a great opening speech that set the tone for an informative and lively conference. Make sure to check it out. Part II to come shortly.
The video can be viewed on our website here. Or our YouTube Channel here.
The initiative funding report from Citizens in Charge Foundation is now available in pdf form on the Truth in Governance section of the website. To view the full report please click here.
Our 50-State Poll on national support for initiative & referendum and report on petition signature fraud will be available shortly as well. Stay tuned!
After a great first day here in San Francisco, the second day begins with a panel on lawyers in the initiative process.
Yesterday was marked by lively debate and certainly a diversity of opinion. The panel yesterday afternoon on petition reform and fraud really got folks political juices flowing. Ohio Representative Jennifer Garrison debated Brandon Holmes from CICF on how to make the process better. After the panel there were tough questions and lively debate on the issue. It was a great display of both sides of the issue and we thank Rep. Garrison for attending and putting forth her argument.
Stay tuned for further updates on the program today.
It’s time for the U.S. Conference on Initiative & Referendum and the 2010 Global Forum on Modern Direct Democracy to begin. It all begins this evening with registration and a small reception to welcome speakers, activists, and most importantly citizens, to San Francisco for what is sure to be a great and informative conference.
UPDATE: The press conference will now be held at Hotel Bijou. The address is 111 Mason Street, San Francisco, CA 94102.
Many have waited to see which side the California Democratic Party would stand on the controversial Proposition 19 which will appear on the November ballot. The party decided to take a neutral approach and not endorse either side last Sunday. Many cite the reason for this stance as trying not to contradict the party’s current candidates Jerry Brown and Barbara Boxer, who have come out and made a stance in opposition to the measure.
Humboldt Baykeeper and the Environmental Protection Information Center have again filed a lawsuit against Eureka challenging the validity of the city’s environmental impact report for the proposed Marina Center development. The suit, filed in Humboldt County Superior Court last week, argues that the city acted in violation of the California Environmental Quality Act when it voted to place a ballot measure before city voters seeking to make a host of zoning changes to the property that is the proposed location for the project.
Krist Novoselic, former bassist for the rock band Nirvana and current chair of FairVote will be speaking at the Saturday night reception during the U.S. Conference on Initiative & Referendum.
Krist is a strong supporter of citizen initiative rights as an effective tool in reforming government, and we look forward to hearing from him at the conference.
If you haven’t already signed up to attend for free click here. Hope to see you there!
Citizens Are Coming to San Francisco? Will You Be There?
Riverside County supervisors later this month will consider a pension-related ballot initiative that also gives voters control over the benefits paid to public safety officers’ widows and orphans. The issue was scheduled to be discussed during Tuesday’s regular board meeting, but was postponed until the July 27 meeting.