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How council helps ALEC agenda against democracy

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Evan Ravitz

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Jul 25, 2015, 11:23:28 PM7/25/15
to Joel Dyer, occupy-boulder-communications-committee, occupy-boulder-go...@googlegroups.com, Clay Evans, Brittany Anas, Kevin Kaufman, Charlie Brennan, Erica Meltzer, Boulder City Council

In late 2013 Council passed a resolution favoring requiring a 60% supermajority to pass state constitutional ballot initiatives.

Of the following popular Colorado Amendments, only Amendments 41, 27 and 22 got a 60% supermajority:

The country's first legalized marijuana  (Amendment 64), the country's strongest ban on lobbyists giving politicians gifts (41), the country's first Renewable Energy Mandate (37),  campaign finance reform (27), increased K-12 funding (23),  Background Checks for buyers at Gun Shows (22), Medical Marijuana (20),  banning leghold traps (14)

Now we learn that the American Legislative Exchange Council is working for the same ends as City Council!

Here is their resolution, annotated: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=http://alecexposed.org/w/images/0/06/7G13-Resolution_to_Reform_the_Ballot_Initiatives_Process_Exposed.pdf&ved=0CBwQFjAAahUKEwjMzOrF4PfGAhUMFz4KHYwFAtM&usg=AFQjCNHPJI3z5HntlQF6xQ1AzdlvYMRt5A&sig2=wsNGm9_4qsog5JrEsGR8QQ

It's well reported in the press too.

Just 2 months ago an Atlanta TV station busted ALEC for meeting in secret with corporate lobbyists, on the taxpayers dime: http://www.11alive.com/story/news/local/investigations/2015/05/21/investigators-legislators-and-corporate-lobbyists-meet-in-secret-at-georgia-resort/27695105/

Having worked for more direct democracy for 26 years, it is my observation that people with somewhat higher intellect and knowledge tend to look down on the masses and think that they, as "the adults in the room," should rule them. But superior intellects understand, as the bestseller "The Wisdom of Crowds" exhaustively shows, that large diverse and independent groups make better decisions than any subgroup. So I have gotten endorsements for national ballot initiatives from such as Noam Chomsky, Daniel Ellsberg, "Granny D," Paul Hawken, Michael Lerner, Ralph Nader, Howard Zinn, and a few leading scientists and entertainers: vote.org/endorsers.

Supporting evidence is ALEC's"Resolution to Preserve the Legislative Process": http://alecexposed.org/w/images/f/f9/7G12-Resolution_to_Preserve_the_Legislative_Process_Exposed.pdf

Matt Appelbaum, ready to lose again in a round 2 of our Daily Camera op-ed debate about this? http://www.evanravitz.com/ravitz/Appelbaum.htm

Evan

(Please blame all typos on word recognition!)
Evan 'from Heaven' Ravitz
http://EvanRavitz.com
(720)403-5594

Evan Ravitz

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Oct 3, 2015, 6:31:39 PM10/3/15
to Boulder City Council, Erica Meltzer, Charlie Brennan, occupy-boulder-communications-committee, occupy-boulder-go...@googlegroups.com, Brittany Anas, Kevin Kaufman, Joel Dyer, Clay Evans

I agree that at least the ratcheting down part of Tabor is bad, and that council should not knee-jerk oppose anything that ALEC is for, as Macon says below.

I disagree heartily with him that we should judge ballot initiatives because of all the bad things that have merely appeared on the ballot, but were wisely rejected by voters. Representatives have considered all kinds of unconstitutional, cruel and insane things, too.

The very worst ballot initiatives I can remember were anti gay, like Colorado Amendment 2. But it was representatives who criminalized sodomy, criminalized some drugs and still persecute millions, persecuted thousands during the McCarthy era, and imprisoned over 100,000 Japanese Americans during World War 2. There is no comparison!

"The Best and the Brightest" lied us into Vietnam and kept us there, "The Smartest Guys in the Room" destroyed Enron and cheated millions and "The Masters of the Universe" crashed the economy.

The Greek gods didn't deal kindly with hubris. And the voters are not dealing kindly with Council's conceit either. They are resorting to problematic ballot initiatives, because you can't respect the height limits, passed by ballot initiative, and other rules. And because you have mostly stacked up big luxury units, not really increased density with smaller units for regular folks, your carbon footprint is bigger, not smaller.

You've been forced to end the ill considered and way over complex Folsom experiment. I've been in Hawaii during that, but have always hated the bike / car crossovers, like at 13th and Pine. Transportation Division favors expensive complexes of signs and lines, which they hope will become expensive swoopy multi colored concrete, with even more expensive irrigated landscaping.

You've made lifetime enemies, and Matt and other old timers have locked in Service Level D soon - unless gas goes over $5. They put our treasure and space mostly into oversized 6/7-empty buses (that Matt admitted to me over the phone that he rarely uses, except to Denver and the airport) instead of taking advantage of Boulder's compact size, young population and mostly good weather and emphasizing bikes and E bikes. You still subsidize parking, as Macon's recent email points out.

You kid yourself that your policies just need "tweaking," or at least try to kid us.

Instead of expensively devising new and complicated processes for each problem, just solicit and winnow alternatives, facilitate deliberation and let my people vote!

Evan

(Please blame all typos on word recognition!)
Evan 'from Heaven' Ravitz
http://EvanRavitz.com
(720)403-5594

Evan, the idea that Council action has helped ALEC’s agenda is not correct. If you want to examine the notion that the initiative process has been good or bad for our democracy, then you have to include ALL of the ballot initiatives that have been the subject of voting—not just the eight that you mention below. I believe that the passage of TABOR on the third attempt in 1993 was very bad for our democracy. It has damaged the ability of state and local governments to deliver public goods: education, child care, environmental services, transportation, parks and trails.

We certainly cannot and should not oppose something just because we discover that a certain organization or politician supports a measure. That is what the Republicans have been doing with Obama for eight years, and it is widely regarded as dysfunctional and inappropriate. 

I do appreciate your calling this to our attention. If ALEC supports something that I have thought to be a good idea, it certainly makes me want to examine my own reasoning to make sure that I have not missed something. But it would be a mistake to define one’s goals reactively—“Oh, they are in favor of it, so I will be opposed.” I have to make room for the fact that when my goals are consistent with those of someone with whom I generally disagree, this coincidence of goals may be a place where some good can be accomplished.

Macon Cowles
Boulder City Council Member
1726 Mapleton Ave.
Boulder, Colorado 80304
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