Pierce County Charter Amendment 55

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Statement For · Yes on Charter Amendment 55: Extend time to gather initiative signatures

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Committee: Sharon Hanek, Mike Lonnergan, Grant Pelesky

Strengthen Your Valuable Initiative Rights Pierce County has never completed an initiative because it allows only 120 days to get signatures equal to 10% of the votes in the last County Executive election, which is currently around 41,000. That’s a very big job! Six Months Is More Reasonable The only change this Amendment makes is to allow more time to gather the signatures to put an Initiative on the ballot. 180 days (six months) instead of 120 (four months). Allowing two more months to get over forty-thousand signatures is only fair. This won’t cost you a penny! The cost of gathering signatures is paid by the Initiative campaign, not the taxpayer. There are no added costs to the County government by allowing two more months to gather signatures. This allows more time for mailing and outreach to the people and reduces the need for paid signature gatherers. Please vote Yes to improve opportunities to hear from the people of Pierce County.

Rebuttal of argument against

This simple change for more time helps all everyday citizens collect signatures in your neighborhood. It was passed by a large majority of commissioners elected by local citizens to benefit you and not backed by “well-funded special interests,” as falsely claimed by opponents. Pierce County has never had a County Initiative make it to your ballot! That’s proof that this change is needed. Protect your precious right to vote on Initiatives. Please vote Yes!

Statement Against · Committee to Protect Our Initiative Process

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Committee: Martha Lantz, Justin Leighton, Troy Serad

More Time Supports Special Interests. Amendment 55 gives initiative sponsors 50 percent more time to gather signatures. More time doesn’t empower everyday citizens. It gives well-funded special interests more time to finance paid signature gathering campaigns. Grassroots efforts succeed by earning community support, not by extending the calendar. There is No Problem to Solve. The Pierce County Charter should only be changed when there is clear need. Pierce County voters have repeatedly rejected changes to the initiative process because the current system works. It ensures the important right of direct legislation reflects local desires and is not bought and paid for by outsiders. Popular Initiatives Will Succeed. A longer deadline supports paid signature gatherers at the expense of volunteer and community support. There is no problem to solve and no reason to change the Charter. Protect our Charter from special interests, vote to reject Amendment 55.

Rebuttal of argument for

For initiatives, the signature deadline isn’t the barrier – bad ideas are. Several referendums have qualified in a 120-day window, showing that good ideas will advance. This amendment extends the clock so rich political campaigns can exhaust voters for longer, drive up election costs and clog our ballots. Pierce County voters have repeatedly said no to extended time frames – nothing is different this time. Reject Amendment 55.