Tim Eyman's I-1033 qualifies for ballot, Secretary of State Sam Reed says
Longtime Tim Eyman publicist, er, I mean, former Associated Press reporter David Ammons, now serving as the Secretary of State's Communications Director, has just put out a gushing press release announcing that Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033 has passed a random sample check on more than 315,000 submitted signatures, thus ensuring its placement on the November 2009 ballot.
Initiative 1033 is Eyman's scheme to lock in all of the budget cuts the Washington State Legislature foolishly made back in the spring. It says that government cannot spend more revenue than what it took in the previous year, guaranteeing the State, its counties, and its cities will quickly run out of money and be forced to start laying off teachers, firefighters, and countless other public servants.
So it's official: we have another vindictive, destructive Eyman initiative on our hands that must be beaten back. We expected as much, but it's never fun to have to be concerned about the risk of a gullible electorate accidentally short-circuiting Washington State into a permanent recession by voting for this.
Meanwhile, Tim Eyman is busy shaking his electronic tin cup again, asking supporters to pony up for his personal compensation fund, Help Us Help Ourselves.
Progressive activists have been wishing for a long time that Eyman would just pack up his bags and move away (not that we'd wish him on any other state) so that our state's quality of life wouldn't constantly be under assault by right wing initiatives. But the reality is, the only way to put Eyman out of business is to build infrastructure to deconstruct his initiatives.
That's why Permanent Defense exists - to provide a year round first line of defense against right wing ballot measures.
As I've noted to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Joel Connelly, I-1033 will not be defeated by a handful of paid consultants working out of an office furnished with money from organized labor and Washington's largest business. It's going to take boots on the ground, clear and concise two way communication with voters, and creative use of resources to bury this horrible initiative for good. We all have a stake in this fight, and we have a lot of work to do.
Initiative 1033 is Eyman's scheme to lock in all of the budget cuts the Washington State Legislature foolishly made back in the spring. It says that government cannot spend more revenue than what it took in the previous year, guaranteeing the State, its counties, and its cities will quickly run out of money and be forced to start laying off teachers, firefighters, and countless other public servants.
So it's official: we have another vindictive, destructive Eyman initiative on our hands that must be beaten back. We expected as much, but it's never fun to have to be concerned about the risk of a gullible electorate accidentally short-circuiting Washington State into a permanent recession by voting for this.
Meanwhile, Tim Eyman is busy shaking his electronic tin cup again, asking supporters to pony up for his personal compensation fund, Help Us Help Ourselves.
Progressive activists have been wishing for a long time that Eyman would just pack up his bags and move away (not that we'd wish him on any other state) so that our state's quality of life wouldn't constantly be under assault by right wing initiatives. But the reality is, the only way to put Eyman out of business is to build infrastructure to deconstruct his initiatives.
That's why Permanent Defense exists - to provide a year round first line of defense against right wing ballot measures.
As I've noted to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer's Joel Connelly, I-1033 will not be defeated by a handful of paid consultants working out of an office furnished with money from organized labor and Washington's largest business. It's going to take boots on the ground, clear and concise two way communication with voters, and creative use of resources to bury this horrible initiative for good. We all have a stake in this fight, and we have a lot of work to do.
# Posted by Andrew : 2:36 PM
Comments:
Post a Comment