Document:California Press Release 6 April 2000 Libertarians Denounce Son of Prop 26 Effort
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- NEWS FROM THE LIBERTARIAN PARTY OF CALIFORNIA
- 400 Capitol Mall, Suite 900
- Sacramento, CA 95814
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- For immediate release: April 6, 2000
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- For additional information:
- Juan Ros, Executive Director
- Phone: (818) 782-8400
- Mailto:director@ca.lp.org
- Web: http://www.ca.lp.org/
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Here we go again: Libertarians denounce 'Son of Prop. 26' effort
SACRAMENTO -- Call it "ballot box déjà vu," "initiative instant replay," or "electoral encore": this November voters may get to decide again whether to lower the two-thirds vote requirement for passing local school bonds -- and Libertarians are already stepping forward to oppose the measure, the party announced today.
"Like a zombie rising from its grave, this initiative refuses to die," declared Libertarian state chair Mark Hinkle.
"Voters have already killed this idea once because they knew that lowering the two-thirds vote requirement will increase property taxes substantially, line the pockets of the teachers unions and developers, and lead to the passage of wasteful, bureaucratic projects that won't help a single school."
Proposition 26, which would have lowered the two- thirds vote requirement to 50%, was defeated in the March primary election. The new measure -- dubbed "Son of Prop. 26" -- would lower the two-thirds threshold to 55%. The California Teachers Association and Silicon Valley businessman Reed Hastings, who pumped $25 million into the failed Prop. 26 campaign, are also masterminding "Son of Prop. 26."
"What part of 'no' don't they understand?" asked Hinkle. "To submit the exact same measure and simply change the threshold by a mere 5% is sheer arrogance, a waste of time, and a slap in the face to California voters."
The Libertarian Party of California joined with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association in opposing Proposition 26. The Jarvis Association even launched a special website for the No on 26 campaign, http://www.SaveOurHomes.com.
Due to signature filing deadlines, the cost of a last-minute drive to qualify the measure for November could reach as high as $5 million. The "Son of Prop. 26" proponents will have perhaps no more than a week or two to collect the necessary signatures -- so Libertarians are urging voters not to sign the petitions at all.
"This is nothing more than abuse of the initiative process by special interests, and voters need to take a stand," Hinkle said.
"We urge anyone who is approached by a paid petition circulator to just say 'no' and refuse to sign the petitions. By doing so, you can help avoid this political repeat performance -- and show the proponents of government school spending that 'no' really means 'no.'"