Hi Marcy,
Thanks for getting the discussion rolling... a few thoughts follow.
Hi All,
At the LPSF meeting of Saturday 8th, Crhis Maden suggested that
discussion of proposed ballot initiatives be continued on our
Activist e-mail list. I have the following thoughts that I would
like to share, and hopefully get some feedback.1. At the meeting, Steve Dekorted raised the question as to what is
our principal goal in considering placing an initiative on the
ballot: Having the initiative indeed pass? or Having the opportunity
to be in the public eye as we collect signatures, write letters to
the editor regarding the proposal, etc? Personally, I fees that the
second reason is more important to the LPSF right now.
I think we can try to accomplish both goals, since they are
complimentary. We will get more publicity and be more in the public eye
if our measure passes. Therefore we should imho choose an issue that
will have a chance of passage, but that will benefit us in terms of
networking, outreach to the left, etc., even if it doesn't pass. Rather
than elevating one goal as the principle goal, we could look at it like
an election cycle -- the first goal is to win the primary, the second
goal to win the general election. One goal comes first chronologically,
but that doesn't mean it's necessarily more important.
2. If the majority of the membership agrees that having the
opportunity to be in the public eye is the principal reason for
considering an initiative, it would seem to me that we should "pick
something out of the hat" from the list already compiled, and run
with it. I propose a vote by e-mail. I personally would vote for an
initiative that would bring back the "jitneys," or other form of
alternative local transportation serving the same purpose as the
jitneys of old.
This is a big project. If we don't adopt some kind of voting method
weighted by contributions, are people going to do the work?
3. The list already compiled consists of the following (I am
including all the initiatives on the original list, plus an
additional idea):Cap the salaries of individuals employed by the City
This one appeals to me a lot, and I think we could do well to take a
bit of a populist tack. When I talked on the campaign trail about
reducing top salaries in the school district, people seemed sympathetic.
Require city police badge numbers prominently stenciled on the bak of
their uniforms.Decriinalize marijuana, and/or eliminate funding for police action
Despite my liking of the salary cap, like Phil (and Michael E.?) I'm
leaning toward this one. As I noted at the meeting, I think a marijuana
initiative would perhaps give us the most bang for our buck in terms of
getting coalition support in getting it on the ballot. And if we
modeled it exactly or nearly on Oakland's successful Measure Z, we
would have more guarantee that our initiative was legally sound, and a
powerful argument to make to voters: "This isn't a radical, untried
idea -- Oakland just passed it last year."
Require a resolution that the war on drugs is unconstitutional
Like the Bill of Rights idea below, this would probably be best as a
declaration of policy. Thanks for mentioning that category of
initiatives, Marcy -- I neglected to do so at the meeting.
Require that City Supervisors abide by the same rules as private
citizens when placing measures on the ballot.Require the City to issue its own driver's licences, good for driving
in the City and surrounding areas.Roll back a City tax
(New on the List): Declaration of Policy stating that no initiative
proposed by the Board of Supervisors or by private citizens can
violate any articles on the U.S. Constitution's Bill of Rights (i.e.,
banning ownership of firearms, for example!)
4. It is my opinion that given the deadlines fast approaching to
submit an initiative for the November 2005 ballot, and given the
amount of research and writing involved, the LPSF should either vote
on an initiative and start the process within the next week or so, or
remove this item from the active agenda. Perhaps there could be a
vote to postpone submission on another public election date.Marcy
I agree with the sense of urgency, but I hope we don't set ourselves
up to let it slide by default.
Yours in liberty,
<<< Starchild >>>
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