SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
October 25, 2010
Sullivan’s Salvos 10/12/10
In this edition:
*Early Voting
*Ballot Issues
*Judicial Retention
*Constitutional Amendment
*Constitutional Convention
*Run For The Schools
*Did You Know?
*Early Voting
I have already voted in the November 2nd General Election. I always vote early. You should, too. Here are four GREAT reasons to vote early:
1. Your vote is in the bank. So if something should happen, and you get in an accident, fall ill, or some other misfortune should befall you… no worries. You have already voted.
2. You will be crossed off the mailing lists. No more requests to vote from the party!
3. You will be crossed off the phone lists. No more calls from the party!
4. You are helping your party of choice. Now they can focus their resources on other people.
There are probably other reasons to vote early, but those are enough for me! Johnson County has 47 satellite voting sites, plus voting every day at the Auditor’s Office, plus vote by mail. You have plenty of options – now go vote!
*Ballot Issues
In addition to races for the US Senate, US House, Governor, and local races, there are several other issues on the ballot this year. In the following items, I will share my thoughts on a few of the issues upon which we can vote this fall.
*Judicial Retention
I am voting YES to retain all 3 of the Iowa Supreme Court judges who are on the ballot.
Iowa is lucky to have a merit system of selecting judges. The US Congress and Senate are already corrupted by money. Do we really want judges indebted to campaign contributors?
There is a strong homophobic effort out there trying to unseat these judges. Why? Because they did their jobs. Now these Justices need our support.
We need a strong, independent third branch of government. I like the system we have, and I like the judges we have. I am voting YES to retain them.
*Constitutional Amendment
As you know, I am a big supporter of conservation. I have never been shy in terms of my support for the environment. So you may be surprised to find out that I oppose the proposed Constitutional Amendment to dedicate 3/8 of one cent of a future sales tax increase to environmental programs.
Why oppose it? There is no cost now, right? My reasons are simple. For as much as I care about the environment, I feel even more strongly about our Constitution and protecting the poor. Here are my objections in a nutshell:
1. I believe the State Constitution is a vital document, dedicated to spelling out our civil rights and setting the basic rules for governance. The State Constitution is no place for what is essentially a spending bill.
2. Sales taxes are paid disproportionally by the poorest among us. We need to fund FEWER things through sales taxes, not more. Passage of this Amendment will simply pressure the State to adopt yet another regressive tax.
I still believe strongly in funding the environment. I simply think the Legislature should raise income taxes to do so, and leave the Constitution alone.
Helping the environment at the expense of the poor and our Constitution is a deal with the devil I am not willing to make.
If you want to hear from the other side, Iowa's Water & Land Legacy will be hosting an INFORMATIONAL session on October 13th at 4:00 PM at the Iowa City Public Library.
*Constitutional Convention
Another issue in front of Iowa’s voters is do we wish to hold a Constitutional Convention? Every ten years, the question automatically appears on the ballot.
I am voting no. I fear that a Constitutional Convention could undo the delicate balance we have achieved. I do not want to risk screwing things up.
Now, if there IS a Constitutional Convention, I am going to lobby like crazy to serve as a delegate! Consider this my campaign kick off!
*Run For The Schools
The annual Run for the Schools is Sunday morning, October 17 in downtown Iowa City. My family and I will be running/walking the 5K. For more info, see: http://www.runfortheschools.com.
*DID YOU KNOW? The average full time employee of Johnson County SEATS has worked there 16 years.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
www.johnson-county.com.
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.
If you do NOT want the weekly E-mail, simply reply to this message, and type "unsubscribe" in the subject line.
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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:20 PM
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