[GPSCC-chat] [Fwd: [GPCA Official Notice] County Polling on Ballot Propositions]

Mon Mar 5 18:55:07 PST 2012

Hi, Tian, et al.:

TERM LIMITS

       I'm vehemently opposed to term limits.  In my judgment, term 
limits are a right wing ploy that have successfully deprived 
legislatures of institutional memory, thereby making it easier for 
lobbyists to enact legislation they write for their clients.

       We could use 100% funding of political campaigns -- to the point 
that many elective offices are won by politicians without substantive 
support from big money.  I got this in part from Lawrence Lessig (2011) 
Republic, Lost (Twelve), which was the primary inspiration for "The 
Crisis in US Politics & Economics", a link to which was provided in an 
email I sent to this list yesterday.  Lessig is a Harvard Law School 
Prof (formerly at Stanford) and the author of two of the best analyses 
I've read on the US political economy.

TOBACCO

        A 5 cent increase in the tobacco tax is probably appropriate.  
If the tax is too high, it encourages a black market in cigarettes and a 
general disrespect for the law.  If it's too low, the externalities 
associated with, e.g., second hand smoking, are not properly reflected 
in the purchase price of cigarettes.  I have not heard of a substantive 
black market in California for cigarettes.  If there is, I could easily 
be persuaded to oppose this measure.

       Best Wishes,
       Spencer

On 3/5/2012 4:17 PM, Tian Harter wrote:
> Anybody have strong feelings about either of these initiatives?
>
> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [GPCA Official Notice] County Polling on Ballot Propositions
> Date: Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:40:45 -0800
> From: County Contacts <contacts2006 at cagreens.org>
> Reply-To: contacts2006 at cagreens.org
> To: County Contacts <Contacts2006 at cagreens.org>
> References: <ACC22E6B-2396-4544-AB5A-DE428F0C7A56 at mindspring.com>
>
> GREEN PARTY COUNTY CONTACTS MESSAGE
>
> This is an announcement from the GPCA Contact List.  For more 
> information, or questions related to the topic of the posting, please 
> do not hit reply. Follow the contact directions
> stated in the email.
>
>
>
>
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 
>
>
> Hi Greens --
>
> We are writing to you because our records show that you serve on a 
> Green Party
> County Council. (If you no longer serve on your county council, 
> quickly reply.
> We will remove you from this list.)
>
> We are beginning our county polling to determine our positions on the 2
> statewide ballot measures for the June 5th election.
>
> *Why county polling now?*
>
> With your help we can complete our county polling by April 28^th so 
> that we
> can take positions on the statewide ballot measures before our next 
> General
> Assembly in San Francisco on May 12-13. If we do not reach quorum in our
> county polling, we will place the decision-making items on the General
> Assembly agenda.
>
> County polling has an 80% threshold and requires at least 50% or active
> California County Green Parties to participate. The default where the
> threshold or quorum is not met is “No Position”.
>
> *What are the two statewide ballot measures?*
>
> /Prop. 28 – Legislative Term Limits/
>
> This measure reduces the total amount of time a person may serve in 
> the state
> legislature from 14 years to 12 years. It allows a person to serve a 
> total of
> 12 years either in the Assembly, the Senate, or a combination of both.
>
> /Prop. 29 – Tobacco Tax/
>
> Imposes additional five (5) cent tax on each cigarette distributed 
> ($1.00 per
> pack), and the equivalent tax increase on other tobacco products, to fund
> cancer research and other specified purposes.
>
> To see complete wording of Propositions go see the CA Secretary of 
> State website:
> http://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/ballot-measures/qualified-ballot-measures.htm 
>
> <http://cagreens.nationbuilder.com/r?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sos.ca.gov%2Felections%2Fballot-measures%2Fqualified-ballot-measures.htm&utm_campaign=county_feb_12&n=1&e=289eed4b5fdd69748bea7419ffa53f73fdbea5a4&utm_source=cagreens&utm_medium=email> 
>
>
> *County Polling Timeline*
>
> /Questions and comments on the county polling process/
>
> Sunday, March 25th, 2012 (12:01 AM PST) and ends on Saturday, March 
> 31st, 2012
> (12:00 midnight PST)
>
> /County Voting/
>
> Sunday, April 1^st , 2012, (12:01am PST) and ends on
> Saturday, April 28th, 2012 (11:59 PM PST).
>
> Votes received after the closing date and time will not be counted.
>
> *How to Cast Your County’s Votes*
>
> Please provide both County Polling Coordinators (Richard Gomez at
> nate136_66 at yahoo.com <mailto:nate136_66 at yahoo.com> and Marnie Glickman at
> marnie at cagreens.org <mailto:marnie at cagreens.org>) with vote results 
> from your
> county in the following form for each ballot measure:
>
> "Yes" for the GPCA to support the measure
>
> "No" for the GPCA to oppose the measure
>
> "No Position" for the GPCA to deliberately remain neutral on the measure
>
> Votes may also be cast as "Abstain" if they do not wish to participate 
> in the
> poll.
> **Abstentions will *ONLY* be counted toward quorum.**
>
> PLEASE SUBMIT VOTES IN THE AMOUNT ALLOTED TO YOUR COUNTY FOR THE MAY 2012
> GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
>
> If you have any questions about the total number of votes that can be 
> cast for
> any measure, contact the County Polling Coordinators or the GPCA 
> Coordinating
> Committee member(s) who represent your region.
>
> Your county should rely on its own internal processes to arrive at its 
> positions.
>
> VOTES MUST BE REPORTED BY A COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBER.
>
> *Questions? Comments?*
>
> Richard Gomez, nate136_66 at yahoo.com <mailto:nate136_66 at yahoo.com>,
> (559)408-3320 <tel:%28559%29408-3320>
>
> Marnie Glickman at marnie.glickman at gmail.com
> <mailto:marnie.glickman at gmail.com>, (415)259-7121 
> <tel:%28415%29259-7121>**
>
> _______________________________________________
> Contacts2006 mailing list
> Contacts2006 at cagreens.org
> http://lists.cagreens.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/contacts2006
>
>

-- 
Spencer Graves, PE, PhD
President and Chief Technology Officer
Structure Inspection and Monitoring, Inc.
751 Emerson Ct.
San José, CA 95126
ph:  408-655-4567
web:  www.structuremonitoring.com