Persistence pays off

By Jennifer J. Foster

I got an e-mail from regular reader Don S. the other day. Don is a longtime, passionate advocate of the initiative and referendum process—I&R, for short—and how it can be implemented as a check and balance on the legislative branch when elected officials are not responsive to the needs of their constituents.

Don had some news to share: After peppering the gubernatorial candidates for their views on I&R, Don has made some positive progress with one Republican candidate.

Several months ago I contacted (GOP candidate Bill) Johnson by e-mail and asked him if he would support the issue of making Alabama the 25th state to have an Initiative and Referendum (I&R) process voters could utilize (when necessary because of the legislature’s continued failure to pass REAL reform and accountability legislation) to introduce such legislation that could bypass both the legislature and the governor and be put on a ballot for voters to accept or reject. I asked him if he would make it one of his campaign issues, and if elected, do all within his power to get I&R legislation passed by the legislature.

I’ve contacted all other gubernatorial candidates and asked them essentially the same thing.

Only two candidates have responded thus far. Robert Bentley sent a negative response and (Republican candidate) Bill Johnson, today, sent me an e-mail saying:

Hi Don,

Just to let you know that I&R is added as an issue to our campaign.  You can find it at the bottom of our issues page here:

http://billjohnson.org/Issues.aspx

Thanks for all the great background info, if there is some way we can say it better on that page, please let me know.

Bill J.“

Indeed, Johnson’s campaign web site includes this blurb on I&R under its “Issues” listing:

Initiative and Referendum

I fully support the ability of citizens to enact legislation directly through Initiative and Referendum process as a way to make government more responsive, stimulate citizen participation in our legislative process and reverse the concentration of government power.  I support HB279 that was proposed in the last legislative session and sponsored by Representatives Ball, Canfield, Love, Hubbard, Mask, Clouse, Hammon, Ward, DeMarco, McCutcheon, Todd, Hinshaw, Sanderford, Oden, Hill, Treadaway and Gipson.

Johnson’s site then links to the 2009 bill.

Note how Johnson characterizes the I&R process: “A way to ... reverse the concentration of government power.“ I think that’s a thoughtful reflection on what I&R is and what it does.

Congratulations to Don for a job well done. As I told him in an e-mail, persistence pays off.

If you happen to see or hear other gubernatorial candidates in forums or on the radio in your area, perhaps you’d like to ask them for their thoughts on I&R—or, on another note, for their thoughts on constitutional reform, which also has the potential to reverse the concentration of government power in Montgomery.

Let us know what they say.

See also:

If you need an explanation on I&R, head on over to Don’s site; he’ll do a great job of filling you in.