For want of a competent petition circulation company, a number of so-called Taxpayer Bill of Rights ballot measures were lost this year in a handful of states across the country. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the combined price tag for those losses now tops $14 million, and the man with most cause to be disturbed by that result is Howie Rich of New York City, who caused those funds to be disbursed to various cells in those states. But in their anger, those hewing to Rich's agenda and ideology are lashing out at taxpayers in Oregon, Arizona, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska and Nevada, filing records requests that promise to snarl local governments for weeks and cost the taxpayers in those states upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars. So much for cutting the expense of government, boys. We've got taxpayers to rob.
Reporter Gosia Wozniacka is on the case in Oregon, where "close to 500 cities, school districts and state agencies... have been hit with public records requests for all e-mails pertaining to any communication regarding measures on term limits, property rights or limiting spending, an undertaking most local municipalities say will take months and thousands of dollars to complete."
Wozniacka writes here http://www.oregonlive.com/... that Paul Jacob, Howie Rich's brother-in-law and the head of Virginia-based Citizens in Charge, believes that public employees have been using the computers at their offices to tell one another about Rich's ballot measures through email - you know, sharing the details of the fine print, something that the Libertarians would rather not have happen. Jacob calls it "public resource abuse" when public employees use their office computers to share information.
Of course, spending millions of dollars to change the constitutions of states far from Virginia and New York amounts to "being helpful," in Jacob's and Rich's ideology, and robbing taxpayers of services and public funds to conduct a fishing expedition is "transparency," I suspect.
"Our goal is basically to find out to what degree public resources are being used for political campaigning and to make sure those resources are not abused," he told Wozniacka. So, his attack on state and local governments commences.
"Altogether 484 state, county and city agencies in Oregon were blanketed with two separate requests by fax during the last week of September, Jacob said. Similar requests also have been sent to about 2,000 government bodies in Arizona, Idaho, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska and Nevada, said Jacob, who added that the group plans to expand the records sweep to at least seven or eight other states within a few months. `By year's end, we'll be able to get to most, if not all, the initiative states,' Jacob said."
But "Oregon state, city and school district officials said the mass-mailed requests would do exactly what Citizens in Charge says it is trying to prevent: tying up public resources," Wozniacka writes. Corbett School District Superintendent Bob Dunton calls it "harassment," adding, "I would like to spend our time and energy on something that serves the public good. But in the meantime, we plan to comply, of course."
Oregon Department of Education spokesman Gene Evans says the request is "certainly going to tie up our staff and computers for a while." I assume that the needs of Oregon's children can afford to be laid aside while the Rich network scratches its itch.
Portland City Attorney Linda Meng tells Wozniacka, "It's unclear what they're asking for. This could be very broad and very expensive to do."
Beaverton School District spokeswoman Maureen Wheeler says the search involves "close to 5,000 employees' e-mails, that's a sizable amount of information to do even key-word searches on. We'd have to pull people off from what they normally do to fulfill this kind of request. We believe in being transparent, but they (Citizens in Charge) also have to know that there are some constraints."
She says the request will "take more than a month and three people's work part-time to go through multiple tape reviews located off-site (the district's e-mails are electronically backed up on tape), costing an estimated $1,700 of staff time."
"City of Gresham spokeswoman Laura Bridges-Shepard said Gresham's response would cost more than $3,500."
Jacob says his organization believes the requests shouldn't be "too onerous" and he says it will "pay for the records and staff time as needed."
But the man who has taken up this taxpayer-funded transparency campaign on behalf of Howie Rich's network "declined to say where the group's money comes from, but said the FOIA project would cost well over $1 million, adding, `We have not raised that much money yet'," Wozniacka reports. They do love transparency over at Citizens in Charge.
Wozniacka did his homework to find that "the records sweep appears to be part of a coordinated campaign by a close-knit group of longtime libertarian activists. Jacob and others at Citizens in Charge, such as Eric O'Keefe , listed on the group's board of directors, and Chris Kliesmet , the designated auditor for the records requests, are longtime supporters of term limits, limited government spending and property rights. Kurt Weber, whose name is at the bottom of the FOIA requests, is a Libertarian Party leader in Oregon. In August, O'Keefe, who is chairman of the Americans for Limited Government executive committee, Kliesmet, and Jacob were featured speakers at the organization's conference in Chicago. Americans for Limited Government and Fund for Democracy, created and backed by Rich, have supported about two-dozen initiatives in 14 states, most aimed at scaling back government power. In 2004, Citizens in Charge spent more than $640,000 in an Arkansas ballot measure battle over term limits."
And they're in it for the long haul, it appears. "We see it as a fairly big project and one that will take not months, but years to complete. By publicizing the problem, it's going to go a long way to solve it."
Like Superintendent Dunton of Corbett, League of Nebraska Municipalities director Lynn Rex says, "This is harassment."
"Hundreds of school districts, all 93 counties and Nebraska's largest cities have received at least four requests for records from Mike Groene of North Platte, Neb., chairman of the Stop Overspending Nebraska group," writes reporter David Hendee of the Omaha World-Herald. "Among other things, he is asking for all records and documents relating to computer, e-mail and Internet use policies and all electronic records that mention the Nebraska SOS campaign and its petition gatherers. The SOS group is campaigning for Initiative 423, a proposal on the November ballot that would limit state spending to the rate of inflation plus population growth."
"Omaha Deputy City Attorney Tom Mumgaard replied that a good faith search of all computer records would entail a substantial effort and could cost at least $276,000. The City of Papillion estimated its cost at more than $100,000. Individual school districts report estimated costs of at least $500 to $1,000," Hendee writes here http://www.omaha.com/....
"Everybody talks about government waste. Well, for crying out loud, to put cities and counties and schools through this exercise is very futile," says Sidney City Manager Gary Person.
"Papillion Mayor James Blinn said the requests would require 26 runs of backup computer tapes. Then a high-ranking city official authorized to see employee Social Security numbers and medical records would be responsible for poring over the records.
`If they want to pay for it, fine, but we'd have to divert staff away from city business to do this,' Blinn said."
Complicating matters in Cornhusker territory is state law that requires a four-day turnaround for open records requests. "The first SOS request landed in government offices Sept. 4 - Labor Day," Hendee writes. LHM Director Rex believes, "This was a 'gotcha' thing, intended to see if they could catch anyone being unresponsive. But everybody was trying to figure out how to be responsive to these bizarre faxes. This was intended to be a high-maintenance project costing property tax dollars . . . and it's from a group that yips and yaps about taxation."
Funny thing, idn't it? Apparently, Nebraska's tax dollars are poorly spent if Nebraskans are making the spending decisions, but those same taxpayer funds are wisely spent when New York millionaires are calling the shots.
The editors of the Idaho Falls Post Register aren't mincing words. "JEERS to Laird Maxwell of Boise," they write here http://www.postregister.com/. "The face behind the Proposition 2 initiative geared at disrupting local planning and zoning just filed a massive public records request. He wants Idaho's school districts, cities and counties to dig up every public document since 2005 that might show public officials are using taxpayer supported resources to defeat Prop 2 -- or pass another initiative that would raise the sales tax to benefit schools. Similar public records requests have been filed in Montana, Nebraska, Arizona and Michigan."
But in the name of the transparency Maxwell suddenly craves, the Post Register has some questions of its own for Howie Rich's wild-west pardner. "Tell us, Laird: Precisely what was your role in the shadowy Citizens for Trustworthy Government's smear campaign against Chuck Winder in the 2003 Boise mayoral election?
"Your initiative campaign took big checks from out-of-state interests, including more than $237,000 from New York real estate tycoon Howard Rich -- who's put millions into similar initiative campaigns in a dozen states. Who's behind Rich? Who is calling the shots on the Idaho campaign -- Rich or you? And are you funneling money from Rich -- or somebody else -- into other states?"
The kind editors - probably using their office computers to share information with one another, folks - urge readers to check out www.howierichexposed.com to learn more. Such a good tip, your helpful correspondent wants to pass it along here.
Reporter Sarah Lemon has discovered who's behind Oregon's Measure 48', reporting that its "placement on the November ballot was funded largely by Howard Rich, a New York City real estate investor and proponent of reducing government. Americans for Limited Government, which he heads, provided 87 percent of the $1 million in pro-Measure 48 contributions so far, according to The Oregonian newspaper."
"The proposed spending limit likely would cut $10 million in state funds from the Medford School District's budget in this biennium and $8.8 million from the next, said Peggy Penland, a member of Medford's school board and Defend Oregon, a broad coalition dedicated to opposing Measure 48," Lemon writes here http://www.mailtribune.com/....
"Oregon University System officials also denounced the measure in a Thursday press conference. If passed, it would eliminate $2.2 billion from the 2007-09 budget, they said. Selling and repaying bonds for capital improvements to higher education also could count against the proposed spending cap, said Becca Uherbelau, spokeswoman for Defend Oregon. Cuts wouldn't stop with education, Uherbelau said."
"Health and human services would have been reduced by $98 million in Jackson County alone if the formula had been in place since 1990, Uherbelau said. The county's department of health and human services now operates under a $42 million budget each year and is funded almost solely by the state. Local public safety would have lost $2.7 million since 1990, based on projections by the Legislature's fiscal office, Uherbelau said."
You think Oregon's elected leaders have an opinion on Rich's intervention in their government?
"It's put out by people who really don't understand what government does for us and don't care," said Sen. Alan Bates tells Lemon. "You'll end up with non-functional schools, unsafe communities. ... You'll have increased numbers of mentally ill literally wandering the streets."
I wonder if Rich and Jacobs will have their state leaders file records requests on the numbers of mentally ill people wandering the streets?
Oregon has no lock on Rich's attention, however. And the editors of the Desert Sun in California would be happier if Rich kept his attention on the government of his own state and out of theirs. In California, Rich's baby is Proposition 90, a "regulatory takings" measure. But the editors call it something else.
"The best costume prize this month should go to Proposition 90, a real wolf in sheep's clothing. Proponents say the measure is about protecting private property rights, but it's really about limiting protections for the public good. Voters should be wary of this deception and reject the measure," they write here http://www.thedesertsun.com/....
"The legal, economic and environmental disaster the proposition would cause is why a vast array of California groups from both sides of the political spectrum oppose Proposition 90. The California Chamber of Commerce, California Nurses Association, Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Civil Justice Association of California and California Building Industry Association all disagree with the measure. Its primary supporter is New York millionaire Howard Rich, who is funding similar measures in five other states."
"The proposition will result in increased annual government costs to pay property owners for losses to their property associated with new laws and rules, and for property acquisitions, the state legislative analyst office reports. These costs are unknown, but potentially significant on a statewide basis," they add.
Having viewed Rich's reach into the Midwest and the West this evening, let's turn our gaze again to the far Northeast and lovely Maine, where reporters Shelley Barron and J. Patrick Brown offer simple advice to the readers of the Bowdoin Orient: "A vitally important question will appear on Maine's ballot this coming November, and once again, conscientious voters will be urged to vote `No on 1'."
"Though the convoluted and misleading language presents itself as greater voter control over taxes, the question presents, in essence, an irrational and completely unfeasible cap on spending in Maine," they write here http://orient.bowdoin.edu/.... "TABOR supporters have repeated false statistics, misleading the public into believing that it will benefit the economy. In reality, TABOR will force the government to stop investing in public works, transportation infrastructure, education, environmental protection, and other programs vital to economic growth. The bill is dangerously shortsighted and poorly planned."
Of course, they've heard what happened in Colorado.
"One look at Colorado's TABOR legacy from more than 10 years ago may suggest what the future for Maine would be if TABOR were to be implemented. According to the Bangor Daily News, `[A] school in the Rocky mountains [ran] out of money to pay for heat. Children [wore] parkas and mittens while the PTA fundraised for heat, books, even reams of paper'."
"Public teacher salaries dropped from 30th to 50th in the country (Hutchinson News). TABOR has eroded state support for enforcement of clean air and water regulation. TABOR has severely crippled Colorado's state economy, and will only do the same for Maine if it is implemented here. Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike have agreed upon TABOR's inevitable destructiveness."
From the mouths of babes, constant readers; now we cock our ears to the wisdom of the aged.
"TABOR is a bad idea. It sounds good as a slogan and promises a lot, but when you look into the details, it does not deliver," writes Les LaFond, president of AARP Maine here http://www.keepmecurrent.com/.... "TABOR is a misleading initiative that looks good on the surface, and hits the emotional target of our desire and need for lower taxes. But when AARP looked into the details, we discovered that it will do things that we do not want and will likely regret later."
"TABOR would immediately require a cut of about one third of the local school budgets and threaten higher education," he explains. "TABOR will make it more difficult for local life savers to respond in a timely manner... We are concerned about what will happen to supportive home health services and how programs such as Meals on Wheels might suffer under TABOR."
And like my own grandparents would, AARP Mainers don't want to call Howie Rich by name but they sure know who he is: "TABOR is an effort by ideological outsiders to impose their cookie-cutter approach not just on Maine, but on numerous other states this election season, including Arizona, Oregon and Nebraska. These outsiders are unconcerned about our individual needs and problems. It's a one-size-fits-all approach, and make no mistake, this initiative would seriously undermine our state's ability to maintain services, creating the potential for devastating cuts to vital programs, and not just those that would impact older Mainers."
Average Mainer Edward Ferreira of New Sharon doesn't want Maine to be the lemming that follows its logic-challenged leader-lemming over the cliff. "I recently watched a video that presented the views of many prominent Coloradans, both Republicans and Democrats. Their message came across loud and clear. Learn from the Colorado experience," he writes here http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/.... "In order to protect the things people care about most deeply, children and their education, and the infrastructure of the state, Maine needs to defeat TABOR. As a parent, an educator, and a citizen of Maine, it is clear to me the destruction TABOR would bring to Maine if passed."
Meanwhile, Maine's TABORites continue scraping up the funds necessary to buy the noose and erect the gallows, hopeful that the dawn will bring Maine's economy a hanging. Reporter Trevor Maxwell finds the Maine Heritage Policy Center and its matron, former gubernatorial hopeful Mary Adams, sitting in their counting-house, counting out their money and hoping to raise enough to air pro-TABOR propaganda - my characterization, dear reader - on Maine television.
"The committee has raised about $228,000 since forming in September 2004, and spent about $151,000. Adams said there is enough money to pay for more television advertisements and other media efforts this month, and she remains optimistic about late contributions," Maxwell tells us here http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/....
"In terms of spending, the pro-TABOR committee used about half of the donations, $60,000, for television spots. Another $63,000 was split up into several categories, including campaign literature, consultant services, travel and office expenses. The list of donors for the latest filing period was devoid of national interest groups, in contrast to prior reports. Americans for Limited Growth, for example, gave $5,000 to the Maine political action committee last September, and another $15,000 in May. The next filings, due Nov. 1, will show whether those organizations contributed more during the pivotal weeks before the election."
Which reminds us all, valiant readers, that this silly season continues for only 33 more days.
CALIFORNIA
http://www.thedesertsun.com/...
Editors, "Proposition 90 will cost taxpayers more than they bargained for"
IDAHO
http://www.postregister.com/
Editors, "Cheers and jeers"
MAINE
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/...
Reporter Trevor Maxwell, "TABOR group takes $72,000 into final weeks"
http://orient.bowdoin.edu/...
Reporters Shelley Barron and J. Patrick Brown, "Vote No on Question 1--again"
http://morningsentinel.mainetoday.com/...
Mainer Edward Ferreira, "Maine should learn from Colorado's TABOR issue"
http://www.keepmecurrent.com/...
AARP of Maine, "TABOR is not right for Maine"
NEBRASKA
http://www.omaha.com/...
Reporter David Hendee, "SOS requests swamp agencies"
OREGON
http://www.oregonlive.com/...
Reporter Gosia Wozniacka, "Oregon, 6 other states blanketed in records bid"
http://www.mailtribune.com/...
Reporter Sarah Lemon, "Spending limit called economic 'disaster'"