Vote NO on Article 7

The following letter to the editor appeared in the Eagle Times.
Vote NO on Article 7

The spirit of SB2 provides better representation, allowing citizens to vote their conscience without the stigma of open air voting. State and national elections operate in much the same way, and with good reason.

Case in point is our 2008 Croydon town meeting. I motioned to reduce the school budget proposal and have the vote taken by secret ballot. Opposition to the ballot was strong and almost exclusively from the teachers and education staff who directly benefit from increased spending.

We lost the vote, but it was closer than much more controversial votes conducted by show of hands. Clearly ballot voting permitted residents to cast votes unencumbered by social taboo.

Nowhere are the benefits of SB2 better known than in Newport, where the citizens recently rejected the proposed school budget. Uppity Newport voters dared to challenge runaway school spending and won. How dare you!

This is precisely why we have SB2; to allow people to vote as they choose without intimidation.

It is also the real reason a group calling themselves "Concerned Citizens of Newport" launched an all-out campaign to rescind SB2. Their flyer, replete with emotional appeals, was carefully designed with a "grass roots" appearance.

But make no mistake. This is not "grass roots", its Astroturf. Grass roots groups don't organize against year old supermajority public votes with expensive mass mailings. Astroturf groups do.

Before going to the polls on May 13th, voters should know that Article 7 is NOT about restoring Democracy. Its about restoring runaway school spending.

SB2 has freed the genie of democracy. Special interests created Article 7 to put the genie back in the voter intimidation bottle.

Vote NO on Article 7!


Jim Peschke
Co-founder Citizens for Reasonable And Fair Taxes - Croydon


Jim wrote the above piece in response to the anonymous piece of propaganda that was sent out by a group called "Concerned Citizens of Newport" on a hot pink piece of paper this past week.

How ironic that an anonymous group sent out a piece of propaganda wanting to disallow voters from voting anonymously. Interesting... it must be from a group of large tax eaters who had a budget not pass recently because of SB-2. The people who have acted in such a cowardly manor and who want voting not to be anonymous should at least have the guts to step forward and not remain anonymous themselves. - Cathy