at the LD8 Dems meeting tonight in Scottsdale.
Eric Ehst of The Arizona Advocacy Network was the presenter.
The presentation was a mostly non-partisan informational session regarding the various questions on the ballot in November. I say "mostly" non-partisan because while the presenter tried to be even-handed, the crowd most certainly did not. :)
I'd go over the questions, but Blog for Arizona has already done a tremendous job of it; in fact, they did it months ago. Also, you can find the texts of the actual propositions at the Secretary of State's website.
Note: The SOS's staff is conducting a series of Ballot Measure Town Meetings across the state.
There's one in Mesa next Wednesday, September 27 at MCC's main campus at Southern and Dobson. It starts at 6 p.m.
The complete schedule of Ballot Measure Town Hall Meetings can be found here.
The Arizona Advocacy Network is holding another forum on September 28 at Grace Lutheran Church, 1124 N. 3rd St., Phoenix. The session starts at 6 p.m.
The forum was the entire meeting, except for two things:
The chair of LD8, Margaret Hogan, did introduce 2 of the LD8 candidates - Stephanie Rimmer (House) and Dan Oseran (Senate.)
Also, they announced two Mitchell for Congress events for Saturday (September 23) - Ollie the Trolley Ride with Harry Mitchell and Neighborhood Walk around Scottsdale at McCormick Park at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and a House Party at the home of Ross & Denise Cooper, with Special Guest of Honor Attorney General, Terry Goddard.
Contact the campaign for info about either event at 480-755-3343.
The forum was very informative and was presented efficiently but not in a way that skimped on information. They (Mr. Ehst and the LD8 Democrats leadership) did a good job with it.
The next LD8 Democrats meeting is October 19th and will be held at the Civic Center Library in Scottsdale, not the normal meeting place in the Mustang branch of the library. The pre-meeting refreshments start at 6:15 p.m., the program starts at 6:45.
The reason for the special meeting place? A special guest.
Israel Torres, Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, will be there to "discuss the duties of the Secretary of State in Arizona." His presentation is titled "Your Voice & Vote Count Now."
Come on out to meet with, listen to, and ask questions of Israel. [I heard him speak at the AFL-CIO's Labor Day Picnic in Tempe. He's a great speaker.]
I wasn't going to do this, but since I spent so much time there and on this post, here are my choices for the ballot questions:
Prop 100 - No bail for illegal immigrants. NO
Prop 101 - Property tax levy limit. NO
Prop 102 - No punitive damages for illegal immigrants. NO
Prop 103 - English as official language. NO
Prop 104 - Raise municipal debt capacity for public safety and other uses. YES
Prop 105 - State Trust Lands amendment, for ranchers and farmers. NO
Prop 106 - State Trust Lands amendment, for everyone else. YES
Prop 107 - Ban same-sex marriage and mess with unmarried couples of any combination. NO
Prop 200 - Million dollar voter reward. Not Sure
Prop 201, 206 - Competing anti-smoking measures. This is where I part company with most of the people who read this blog. I have always felt that people in our society are always too quick to tell others how to live their lives. Since I pounce on theo-cons when they do it, it would be hypocritical to let 'the good guys' slide on the same thing. My only hesitation is that Prop 206 is funded by Big Tobacco in the form of RJ Reynolds. Not Sure
Prop 202 - Raise minimum wage. YES. Actually, HELL YES.
Prop 203 - First Things First early childhood health and education initiative. YES
Prop 204 - Humane treatment of farm animals. YES
Prop 205 - Automatic vote-by-mail. YES
Prop 207 - Anti-eminent domain act that would make gov't compensate for land value losses due to things like zoning changes. NO
Prop 300 - Ban illegal aliens from receiving things like adult ed, childcare assistance, etc. NO
Prop 301 - No probation for 1st time Meth offenders; go to jail, do not pass go. Or rehab. NO
Prop 302 - Raise legislative salaries to $36k/year. Much as I hate to say it, YES.
Later!
1 comment:
Went to the one at Grace Lutheran Church and it was very well done. The only thing our group differs with the Advocacy Network on is Prop 205.
We are not against vote-by-mail, but we are against taking away the polling places. It causes many problems people don't think of right away like:
*No exit polls to verify results
*The audit (SB1557) will be cut in half since polling places are audited at 2% and mail-in only 1%
*Turn-out results are mixed - "sixteen states and the District of Columbia had turnout increases in 2000 that exceeded Oregon’s", "[i]n every presidential election year since Texas began early voting in 1988, the voting turnout increase in Texas has been less than turnout increases nationwide" (Cal-Tech/MIT - Voting: What Is, What Could Be)
http://www.vote.caltech.edu/media/documents/july01/July01_VTP_Voting_Report_Entire.pdf
*Prop 205 does not put our vote-by-mail system on par with Oregon’s
For example:
Oregon - if a forwarding address is available and in the same county: “a Voter Notification Card is generated and sent to the new address. The voter will automatically be sent a ballot for the next election. The voter may appear in person to update his or her registration and receive a ballot for the current election.” (Carter Baker Report - Ballot Integrity and Voting by Mail: The Oregon Experience)
http://www.sos.state.or.us/executive/CarterBaker.pdf
Arizona - "The early election board shall check the voter's affidavit on the envelope containing the early ballot. If it is found to be sufficient, the vote shall be allowed. If the affidavit is insufficient, the vote shall not be allowed." (ARS 16-552(B))
http://azleg.gov/ars/16/00552.htm
*Fraud cases - "The absentee ballot is the 'tool of choice' for those who are engaging in election fraud." (Florida Department of Law Enforcement: Florida Voter Fraud Issues) http://www.fdle.state.fl.us/publications/voter_fraud.asp
There are many other problems - we are starting a page on our website that will expand over time at http://aceronline.org/205
any questions, let us know: info@aceronline.org
Still glad they are doing such a valuable (and needed) service.
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