Offering frequent news and analysis from the majestic Evergreen State and beyond, The Cascadia Advocate is the Northwest Progressive Institute's unconventional perspective on world, national, and local politics.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

NO on I-1033 Coalition begins airing first television ads to explain initiative's harm

This morning the NO on I-1033 Coalition, of which the Northwest Progressive Institute and Permanent Defense are a part, launched its first television ads to describe to voters the immense harm that Initiative 1033 would inflict.

The first ad focuses on the threat to public schools:
Script: I-1033 hurts Washington's classrooms and kids

JENNY ROSE, WASHINGTON TEACHER: We know how kids learn best: individual attention in small classes. But tough times have forced schools to cut millions of dollars and thousands of teachers.

Now, Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033 threatens to make things worse. 1033 would cut more teachers and raise class sizes, making it harder for our kids to learn.

When Colorado passed a similar law, class sizes rose and graduation rates fell.

Is that what we want here?

Vote NO on 1033.
The budget passed by the Legislature last spring has finally reared its ugly head in school districts across the state. Thousands of teachers and support staff have discovered that their jobs that are in jeopardy because there isn't enough revenue to properly fund schools. Meanwhile, school districts have raised athletic fees, cut back bus routes, and eliminated support for the arts. Universities are jacking up tuition by nearly thirty percent over two years.

I-1033 would freeze all those budget cuts into place, trapping us in a permanent recession while our valuable sales tax dollars get pumped into the pockets of rich property owners like Bellevue developer Kemper Freeman Jr., who will enjoy a special tax break. (Kemper, for readers who haven't heard of him, owns the Bellevue Collection: Bellevue Square, Bellevue Place, and Lincoln Square. He was recently granted a permit to operate a "heli-stop" atop one of the buildings downtown. He is a major donor to Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033).

The second ad focuses on the threat to health and human services:
Script: I-1033 worsens health care crisis

SHELBY GILJE, WASHINGTON SENIOR: For too many seniors the recession is making it harder to get the care they need. Tim Eyman's Initiative 1033 will only make things worse.

1033 slashes funding for nursing homes, in-home care, and other senior services.

And when Colorado passed a similar initiative, senior care faced significant cuts, especially in rural communities.

Times are tough enough. I don't want to make things worse.

That's why I'm voting NO on 1033.
These ads will start running in the Seattle, Spokane, and Vancouver media markets immediately. If you watch much TV, and live in one of the three major urban areas, you'll probably see them several times between now and Election Day.

Hopefully these ads will help raise the campaign's visibility. Not enough Washingtonians know what Initiative 1033 is or what it would do. That needs to change. Tim Eyman is praying that voters don't take the trouble to research the consequences, because if they do, he's headed for defeat in November.

Comments:

OpenID sarajane46th said...

To NPI readers: Discussion among the leaders of the 46th Democratic organization last night ranged from let's go to clueless to defeatism. In the end, we voted to fund our own No 1033 campaign lit, because the campaign hasn't delivered any yet. I am convinced that the very negative poll is based on most people not knowing, not understanding, and we have to take this on ourselves, to initiate this conversation with everyone we know, and to explain it in terms that they can understand, that reach their self-interest. I think the ads to a good job of this.

Here's my elevator speech: This awful, horrible, very bad Tim Eyman initiative will lock local and state governments into the worst economy in 27 years, with cuts to all services and no way to increase taxes and fees as needs grow, without a public ballot. It sets a cap on sales taxes and returns the "excess" only to property owners. Renters get nothing; 40% of property owners are commercial, so wealthy developers such as Kemper Freeman, Jr. are funding the initiative. It's a reverse Robin Hood scheme that takes from the poor in sales taxes and benefits the rich who own the most property.

October 7, 2009 11:05 AM  

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