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Sizemore petition rejected in Newberg |
The anti-tax advocate will reapply for a petition
that would make it illegal for unions to use employee funds for
political purposes |
By Schellene
Clendenin, Newberg
Graphic reporter
E-mail Schellene at
sclendenin@eaglenewspapers.com
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Anti-tax advocate Bill Sizemore has taken his fight to prohibit
unions from using membership dues for political purposes to
elections offices in Newberg and Yamhill County.
The request for the petition was recently rejected by the city of
Newberg because Sizemore, the chief petitioner, is not a citizen of
Newberg, according to a letter written by elections clerk Dawn
Wilson.
The Oregon Constitution prohibits a nonresident from requesting an
initiative that would change a city charter and the Newberg City
Code reflects that decision. The language within the code states: “I
have personally signed this petition; I am a legal voter of the City
of Newberg, Yamhill County, Oregon, and my residence and street
number are correctly written after my name.”
Newberg was one of several cities in Oregon to reject the petition,
Sizemore said, adding that he has already had a volunteer offer to
apply as chief petitioner here.
Sizemore plans to sue at least one of the cities that refused his
petition request, saying he believes that unless it’s in the city
charter to refuse a petitioner who is not a resident of the city,
there is no legal basis to prevent him from doing so.
And he said Attorney General Hardy Myers agrees with him,
although he admits that Myers hasn’t submitted an official written
opinion on the matter. He added that cities are also not bound to
follow Myers’ opinion.
The point may be moot, however, since Yamhill County accepted the
request, ruling that the petition can be distributed county-wide. If
at least 1,830 signatures are collected the initiative will go on
the ballot as early as November.
Sizemore’s aim is to prevent unions from deducting funds from the
paychecks of city employees to lobby at the state capital. The
initiative is similar to Measure 59, which failed in 1998. Sizemore
has vowed that he will go from city to city and county to county to
get the initiative passed.
“The playing field is not level when the government – which is
supposed to be a neutral party in elections – raises millions of
dollars every election cycle for one side of the political debate,
the side that wants bigger government and higher taxes,” Sizemore
said.
According to Sizemore, the government collects money via union dues
collected from city employees.
“What we’re saying is that public employees ought to be free to
donate to any cause they choose, but should do it the way the rest
do, by writing a check, not by having the government collect (the
money) for them,” he said.
Sizemore also submits that unions do everything they can to block
the petitions, quoting them as saying ‘it’s cheaper for us to keep
Sizemore off the ballot.’ He claims that union members hire
professional blockers to harass petitioners, making gathering
signatures more difficult.
Michael Richards is a union representatives for the office of
Professional Employees International Union Local 11, the union who
represents police dispatchers in the state.
According to Richards, Sizemore’s petition amounts to sour grapes
because the unions have been able to amass support to block many of
his initiatives.
“It’s his way of trying to cut off money going to fund against the
initiatives and measures he’s brought in past,” Richards said. “We
oppose what he does as anti-worker and anti-Oregon.”
Richards went on to explain that Sizemore’s is working
to lessen the ability of unions to fight him at the capital. Without
the union’s lobbying voice, he continued, Sizemore’s measures to cut
taxes would likely pass, eliminating the funding cities rely on to
pay for public services such as police and firefighters.
“What he’s trying to do is get at the root of the problem,”
Richards added, “trying to eliminate his public enemy No. 1. Then he
can pass all the asinine initiatives he wants. It has nothing to do
with doing the right thing. It’s all self serving.”
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From
June 26,
2004, Newberg Graphic
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