TODAY IS THE DEADLINE to get any petitions still in your possession to the appropriate
city and town clerks to have the signatures certified as those of registered voters.
You have only until 5:00 PM THIS AFTERNOON to get them there if the
signatures are to count toward our total.
When you drop off petitions, make sure the clerk gives you a receipt.
Mail the receipt(s) to us at the above address. Do NOT go back to pick up your petitions.
Our drivers will "sweep"every city and town hall after all petitions have been
duly certified and pick up your petition(s) along with all the other "G" tax
rollback petitions in every clerk's possession.
Yesterday, after our drivers were well along on their delivery
routes, the mail arrived and more petitions poured in -- some 500 additional signatures we
estimate, though in the scramble didn't have the time to count. We sorted and got them out
last night, and our emergency drivers team hit the road again this morning and will
deliver them all over the state today. We're gearing up for another panic delivery later
this morning if more arrive in today's mail!
The phones rang off the hook yesterday (and still are ringing!) with
calls from folks who had last minute petitions but didn't know what to do with them. We
gave them the (above) instructions to deliver their petitions to the appropriate city or
town halls and send us their receipts. It's looking better and better by the moment -- and
we've still got the City of Boston to collect in through this weekend! (The deadline ONLY
in the City of Boston is Monday at 5:00 PM.)
Late yesterday Governor Cellucci returned the state budget along with
his vetoes. We were glad to see that he took our 11th hour advice and vetoed the
Legislature's outrageous rewrite of the "Clean Elections" law to again benefit
themselves -- while signing off on the $10 million funding of it.
As much as we, like he, oppose "Public Assistance for
Politicians," doing anything otherwise would have put another nail in the coffin of
the initiative petition process. It would have surrendered the high moral ground we hold
when the time comes to fight any changes proposed by the Legislature to our tax rollback
initiative when it is approved by the voters and becomes law next year.
We simply cannot afford to support the initiative and referendum
process only when we agree with the outcome. It's like the classic defense of the First
Amendment: "I disagree with what you say, but will defend to the death your right to
say it."
Either we defend the process consistently and in all instances when
it comes under attack, or we help erode it by handing it over piece by piece to the very
politicians who force us to use it as a last resort.
We're glad CLT was able to help convince the governor.
 |
Chip Ford |
CLT NEWS RELEASE
November 16, 1999
RE: BUDGET VETOS
Contact: Barbara Anderson or Chip Ford
(781) 631-6842
Governor Cellucci got his budget done on time. The Legislature was over four
months late with its budget.
The legislative budget attacked an initiative petition that was passed by the
voters in 1998. Governor Cellucci vetoed the outrageous change in that voter-passed law
while supporting its funding, thereby defending the sanctity of the citizens' initiative
process.
The final legislative budget increased spending on so-called "education
reform" by an amount that is not justified by the results of the reform law. MCAS
scores again prove that much of the "education" money is not being wisely spent.
The Governor vetoed some of the excess. Perhaps the Massachusetts Teachers Association,
instead of attacking the governor for his fiscal restraint, might work harder with the
increase they got to improve the test scores.
The Legislature and the Mass. Teachers Association collaborated in a new teacher
pension scheme that would have further exacerbated the teacher shortage. Governor Cellucci
vetoed this scheme, proving who really cares about education and "the children."
The Legislature increased the capital gains tax. Governor Cellucci kept his
"no new taxes" pledge and vetoed the tax increase.
Bravo, Governor Cellucci.
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