Sunday, March 25, 2007

Your help needed - Please stay tuned - More news to follow

Please check back for more accurate news on the Project Destiny proposal.

I am in the middle of figuring out exactly how much the big players will save on their taxes, how much the upper, middle and lower income groups will save and exactly why you should vote no. Let me know if you have "hard" dollars and cents figures along with quoteable public figure sources.

Additional talking points are being developed for the media. Suggestions are welcome.

I am still gathering names of people who want to work against the Destiny Proposal and who would like to help bring it down. A ballot issue committtee will hopefully be formed.

E-mail me if you are interested in participating.

Monday, March 05, 2007

Don't Sign It - I'm not kidding

The following is the text of the petition being circulated in favor of the New Sales Tax. This is the petition for Polk County, the other petitions are identical except for county name. Emphasis is mine.

"We the undersigned eligible electors of Polk County, Iowa hereby request the imposition of a one-cent local option sales and services tax authorized under Chapter 423B of the Iowa Code. We further express our support for the election to be held on Tuesday, July 10, 2007, that a ten-year sunset be imposed on the local option sales and services tax, and for the tax to be used primarily for property tax relief and regional quality of life amenities."

In a little piece of mis-information the Yes to Destiny FAQ sheet says the following:

"What if I haven’t made up my mind yet?"

"Signing the petition DOES NOT indicate your support for Yes to Destiny. Submitting petition signatures is required by Iowa law in order to place the question on the ballot. "

I guess that there is something that I don't understand about the English language here.

NOTICE: The FAQ's have changed - The above item has be removed from the "Destiny" web site (3/25/07).

For those who wish to support the petition drive please contact the folks at the Des Moines Partnership and Yes to Destiny their contact information is here:

"Download and print your petitions and get started gathering your signatures today! Please be sure that people are signing the petition for the county their home address is in.
Dallas County: <http://yestodestiny.org/support/pdf/Yes_to_Destiny_Petition_Dallas_County.pdf>
Polk County: <http://yestodestiny.org/support/pdf/Yes_to_Destiny_Petition_Polk_County.pdf>
Warren County: <http://yestodestiny.org/support/pdf/Yes_to_Destiny_Petition_Warren_County.pdf>

There is also a Fact sheet in order for you to brush up on your "Yes to Destiny" lingo!
http://www.peopleforprojectdestiny.org/support/pdf/Fact_Sheet.pdf

Thank you for your time! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, or one of the following people:

Nader Halawa: 515-451-0420, nhalawa@yestodestiny.org
Nathan Treloar: 515-418-0994, ntreloar@yestodestiny.org
Jessica Walter: 515-286-4924, jwalter@desmoinesmetro.com
Jay Byers: 515-286-4963, jbyers@desmoinesmetro.com
Rebecca Batcheller: 515-286-4980, rbatcheller@desmoinesmetro..com"

If you think that you might not support this petition do not sign it or you may be spending a nice Tuesday in July at the polls instead of the pool.

As always, your comments to this post are invited.