Red Light Camera News EYMAN TO CITY OF MONROE: No fair using taxpayer dollars to influence voters
EYMAN TO CITY OF MONROE
No fair using taxpayer dollars to influence voters
July 25, 2011
WORDING of Monroe Initiative #2 on the red light cameras.
Backers hope to have this one validated for the ballot in November. CLICK TO ENLARGE http://www.skyvalleychronicle.com/999/news/img201107252050101522251398.gif
(MONROE, WA) -- To anti-red light ticket camera activist Tim Eyman it’s a matter of fairness and wise use of taxpayer dollars.
Why should the city of Monroe get to use taxpayer dollars to influence voters on the issue of red light ticket cameras in the city when opponents have to go raise private money to inform voters on the issue?
Eyman notes the city is planning on sending out an FAQ sheet (from the city’s point of view) on the red light camera issue to Monroe citizens in a utility bill.
And, say opponents of the cameras, that means taxpayer dollars will be used to sway citizen opinion in a hotly contested public issue that will soon be voted on
To that end Eyman has fired off a letter to the Washington State Public Disclosure Commission asking the commission to do a bit of arm-twisting with the city of Monroe.
“We ask the PDC to discourage Monroe’s officials from spending city revenue to influence the debate over ballot measures related to automatic ticketing cameras. The Mayor and City Council’s newfound desire to inform their citizens of “just the facts” on ticketing cameras coincides perfectly with city council members’ own re-election campaigns and these ballot measures and so should be disallowed,” writes Eyman in the letter dated Monday July 25.
In the letter Eyman points out that local anti-camera foes have filed one initiative opposing the red light cameras (Monroe Initiative #1) with a second initiative (Monroe Initiative #2) at the halfway mark with signatures and that they are optimistic both measures will be on the November ballot.
“Given all this public support and monstrous momentum, the Mayor and City Council recently voted to put on the November ballot their own advisory vote on automatic ticketing cameras – a hopelessly confusing measure intended to cloud the issue rather than clarify it,” says the letter.
“There is a natural desire and eagerness for the Mayor and City Council to influence the debate over these three ballot measures. But such eagerness is no excuse for using their superior resources – city revenue – to defend themselves and their position. As opponents of the ticketing cameras, we would like to ‘get the facts out’ on what’s been going on but we must privately fundraise to do so. The pro-ticketing-camera Mayor and City Council are not privately fundraising; instead they are forcing the taxpayers to pay for their public relations counteroffensive,” adds Eyman in the letter to PDC.
The anti-camera foes say with as many as three ballot measures on this November’s ballot, this is now a “political debate” over ticketing cameras in Monroe and so it is unfair and inappropriate for the pro-ticketing-camera side of the debate to be subsidized by city revenue.
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