Amador County – Proponents of a constitutional convention in California have cited a lack of funding and public support as reasons to suspend signature-gathering efforts to place the measure on the November ballot. Reform California, an east bay coalition of reform, advocacy and business groups, said last week it has spent about $1 million towards gathering the 694,364 necessary signatures, but expected more donations. If the measure were to go forward, it would establish a statewide delegation of citizens, mostly from outside the political establishment, to propose various types of government reform. The coalition said our state government suffers from “drastic dysfunction” and our state’s founders gave us the ability to form a convention as a tool for reform. They said the California Constitution is 75,000 words and has been amended more than 500 times, compared to the US Constitution, which is 4,500 words and has been amended 17 times. The coalition initially gained major support but has suffered from internal disputes over what areas of reform should be addressed and whether delegates should have political experience. They have alleged that efforts have been stymied by some private signature-gathering firms it says are violating state and federal antitrust laws and the constitutional rights of the movement's organizers. The group’s attorneys sent letters to these firms outlining the alleged misdeeds in early February. “I was very disappointed to learn that the efforts to gain the public’s support for a constitutional convention have been suspended,” said Assemblymember Alyson Huber, 10th District representative and one of the many elected leaders backing the movement. “We must have a dialogue with the citizens of California in order to fundamentally shift they way we do business. I hope the legislature can find the courage to listen and act to implement the reforms our state so desperately needs,” she said. Bay Area Council CEO Jim Wunderman, whose group helped launched the effort, told the Associated Press that the effort would be dead unless it raised more than $3 million by March 1st. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Monday, 15 February 2010 17:00
Constitutional Convention Proponents Suspend Efforts to Seek Ballot Measure
Amador County – Proponents of a constitutional convention in California have cited a lack of funding and public support as reasons to suspend signature-gathering efforts to place the measure on the November ballot. Reform California, an east bay coalition of reform, advocacy and business groups, said last week it has spent about $1 million towards gathering the 694,364 necessary signatures, but expected more donations. If the measure were to go forward, it would establish a statewide delegation of citizens, mostly from outside the political establishment, to propose various types of government reform. The coalition said our state government suffers from “drastic dysfunction” and our state’s founders gave us the ability to form a convention as a tool for reform. They said the California Constitution is 75,000 words and has been amended more than 500 times, compared to the US Constitution, which is 4,500 words and has been amended 17 times. The coalition initially gained major support but has suffered from internal disputes over what areas of reform should be addressed and whether delegates should have political experience. They have alleged that efforts have been stymied by some private signature-gathering firms it says are violating state and federal antitrust laws and the constitutional rights of the movement's organizers. The group’s attorneys sent letters to these firms outlining the alleged misdeeds in early February. “I was very disappointed to learn that the efforts to gain the public’s support for a constitutional convention have been suspended,” said Assemblymember Alyson Huber, 10th District representative and one of the many elected leaders backing the movement. “We must have a dialogue with the citizens of California in order to fundamentally shift they way we do business. I hope the legislature can find the courage to listen and act to implement the reforms our state so desperately needs,” she said. Bay Area Council CEO Jim Wunderman, whose group helped launched the effort, told the Associated Press that the effort would be dead unless it raised more than $3 million by March 1st. Story by Alex Lane This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Latest from
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