Paul’s blog

We have long seen the value of protecting the right to petition, but now special interests and lawmakers have come around, too!

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april fools

Ok, maybe not.

Today there is a hearing in the California Senate on S.B. 168. Citizens in Charge opposes the bill and sent the following letter to state senators:

Yesterday, Citizens in Charge, joined by the Humane Society of the United States and the National Taxpayers Union, filed a friend of the court brief in the case, Michael Ni v. Warren Slocum, Chief Elections Officer of San Mateo County, asking the California Court of Appeal to reverse a lower court’s decision and hold that Michael Ni’s electronic signature on a 2010 petition was legally proper and, likewise, that electronic signatures gathered in accordance with the requirements of California law should be accepted as valid for initiative and referendum petitions. esig

The Gipper Turns 100

Sun, Feb 6 2011 by Paul Jacob

Here’s one for the Gipper! Today, the late former President Ronald Reagan would have been 100 years young.

To celebrate his birthday, we at Citizens in Charge highlight his support for initiative and referendum. In 1980, in a letter to New Jersey activist Sam Perelli, Reagan wrote, “George Bush and I congratulate you on your efforts to attain, for the people of New Jersey, the right to initiative and referendum. We urge you to keep up your fight and we endorse your efforts.”

 

Why does a fellow who’s the executive director of the Greenlining Institute want to red-line democracy?

Common Sense

Should taxpayers be forced to fund their own foes?

This November, voters in four states will see ballot measures seeking to place a right to hunt and fish into their constitutions. In three of those states, the issues are likely to pass quite comfortably, but not in Arizona.

This week I am traveling to Arizona to campaign against Proposition 109, a measure that on the surface seeks to enshrine hunting and fishing rights, but in reality is a back door power grab by the state legislature that chips away at citizen initiative rights.

Joan Stern penned a wonderful ”˜Poem of the Global Forum,’ entitled “Let’s Not Compromise Initiatives.” Read it here.

The U.S. Supreme Court yesterday ruled 8-1 that petition signers do not have a privacy right to prevent public disclosure of their personal information on a petition. Citizens in Charge Foundation filed an amicus brief in the case, Doe v. Reed, arguing in favor of a privacy right for petition signers.

In ALEC’s latest “Rich States, Poor States” report there is a ranking of states by “economic outlook,” a compilation of 15 policy variables, and by past economic performance (from 1998 to 2008).

Today, Colorado’s Independence Institute and a group of citizens involved in various initiative petition campaigns in the state filed suit in federal court seeking to overturn a state law that imposes new rules and restrictions on initiative petitions. The law was passed last year by a large, bipartisan majority of legislators.

Citizens in Charge Foundation has been working with those who brought the legal challenge. One plaintiff, Dennis Polhill, is a member of Citizens in Charge’s board of directors.

New Jersey politics is always interesting. Today a state appeals court ordered the Jersey Secretary of State to finally give petitions to citizens seeking to recall U.S. Senator Robert Menendez under a provision in the state constitution.

Letter to the Editor

Mon, Oct 26 2009 by Paul Jacob

Last week we blogged about Jeff Jacoby’s article in the Boston Globe discussing comments made about the initiative process by the chief justice of the California Supreme Court.

I wrote a letter to the editor in the Sunday edition of the Boston Globe responding to Jacoby’s article, you can check it out here.

Political Moonlighting

Tue, Oct 20 2009 by Paul Jacob

Last week, I traveled to Pierce County, Washington, to take part in an event entitled “The Fight for Democracy in Pierce County,” which was held at the University of Puget Sound. The forum was set up by folks with No Rigging the System, a group campaigning to defeat three measures on the county ballot this November 3rd.