Newswire
On Nov. 3 voters in Ohio will decide on Issue 3, a statewide ballot initiative to bring four first class casinos to Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Toledo. Proposal backers Penn National Gaming Inc. and Rock Ventures, a holding company which oversees all investment activities of Dan Gilbert, majority owner of the Cleveland Cavaliers and founder of Quicken Loans, are getting the word out about Issue 3.
Alaska voters in Fairbanks and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough rejected sales taxes Tuesday while measures that could lead to increased availability of booze were winning in Bethel and Kotzebue. The Fairbanks 3% sales tax proposal was tied to a measure to reduce property taxes. The plan could have increased spending on roads, police and fire protection by $8 million. Former Mayor Steve Thompson, a supporter, said critics used scare tactics to defeat the measure.
Cleveland’s City Council has come out in support of Issue 5, the November ballot initiative that would create a 15-person commission to recommend ideas for restructuring Cuyahoga County government. But a Monday evening vote on the matter showed how contentious the reform debate is and revealed rare fissures in a council known for its unanimous, rubberstamping ways.
A proposal for the 2010 ballot would give Missourians the choice of voting early in future elections. Missouri voters now may cast absentee ballots only if they swear they cannot vote on Election Day. An initiative approved for circulation by the secretary of state’s office would create a 17-day, early voting period before elections with no excuses needed.
A St. Paul group called No Bad Ballots has formed to opposed ranked voting, or Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) in city elections. Another group called St. Paul Better Ballot Campaign — which includes many prominent local politicians — strongly supports the voting method. St. Paul residents will vote on a ballot initiative in November on whether to adopt the voting method, which will be used for the first time this fall in Minneapolis.
Republican Steve Kozachik, who is seeking to unseat Democrat Nina Trasoff in Ward 6, has informed us via e-mail that he plans to continue to support the Public Safety First initiative on the Nov. 3 ballot. Kozachik had said he was reconsidering his support, given that the city could be facing a $46 million shortfall next year. Kozachik says he doesn’t trust the budget numbers released by City Manager Mike Letcher.
A staunch supporter of Initiative 1033 on November’s ballot says taxpayers should have more say on how government spends their money. An opponent of Tim Eyman’s ballot measure says the loss of the rainy-day reserve would “kill local government” and force drastic cuts to government services. “It allows government to grow but only at a rate that citizens control,” said Shelley Taylor, a tax-limit advocate, in a spirited debate at the Port Angeles Regional Chamber of Commerce luncheon on Monday.
Ballots have started arriving in local mailboxes for Santa Barbara’s first vote-by-mail election, but the campaigning is far from over. Once they receive their ballots, voters can vote anytime until Nov. 3. Ballots come with a prepaid-postage return envelope and a voter information pamphlet, according to the City Clerk’s Office.
The way officials throughout Florida, often at developers’ behest, trample local growth plans is maddening. So, it’s no wonder Hometown Democracy, a grass-roots movement, got enough public support for a 2010 ballot to alter that landscape. It would require public votes on any changes to local growth plans. Something’s needed to get officials to honor growth-management plans. And Hometown Democracy appears an earnest, provocative and intriguing way of making them do so.
The Denver City Council on Monday passed a proclamation urging voters to defeat a ballot initiative that would require police to impound the vehicles of unlicensed drivers. All but one council member heaped scorn on the initiative, saying it was a costly, thinly veiled attack against illegal immigrants that would end up requiring the city to spend precious resources. “It will tie up police time,” said Councilman Doug Linkhart, who sponsored the proclamation. “It will tie up city attorney time. It will tie up court time.”