April 6, 2015
C.A.S.H. and the California Building Industry Association (CBIA) have concluded that a State School Bond has to be on the 2016 November General Election ballot or there probably will not be a State School Bond on the ballot until 2020. C.A.S.H. and CBIA have partnered and created Californians for Quality Schools (CQS) to place a $9 billion State School Bond on the November 2016 General Election ballot.
The Attorney General has issued Title and Summary for the State School Bond Initiative and we are now on the streets collecting signatures!
We have received many questions regarding the State School Bond Initiative, so Jenny Hannah, our C.A.S.H. Chair, sat down with Dave Walrath to get some answers: One in particular, and the most pressing at the moment:
Jenny: Why do we have to pay for signature gathering?
Dave: No initiative in the past 20 years has qualified without using paid signature gatherers.
We have contracted with a very reputable signature gathering company that is being paid to:
- Gather all the necessary signatures;
- Print and distribute the initiative petitions;
- Validate the signatures;
- Turn in the signatures to the appropriate county election office, and
- Handle all of the legally required activities to ensure the State School Bond is placed on the ballot.
The signature gathering company needs to validate the raw signatures to check how many will be valid before they are turned in to the county election offices. The petitions are turned in by county and only registered voters in that county count as valid signatures.
Many initiatives fail because they have relied on volunteer gatherers who do not know how to validate signatures before they are turned into the county elections office.
We, through CQS, can place a State School Bond on the November 2016 ballot IF we raise enough money to gather the signatures for the initiative. Once we receive your contribution we will then forward it to CQS for the signature gathering campaign. While we will certainly have a grassroots effort for signature gathering, it is too risky NOT to hire a signature gathering company.
We need your help TODAY. If we raise the money for the signatures a State School Bond WILL be on the ballot in 2016.
Click here to contribute online today to the C.A.S.H. Issues Committee
Jenny: Will the Governor retaliate against firms supporting the State School Bond initiative?
Dave: No. When Californians for Quality Schools met with the Governor’s staff they did not indicate any anger. In fact, they said that they had expected we would propose an initiative.
The Governor has not called or taken any actions against CBIA or C.A.S.H. member contributor firms. If there was going to be retaliation, it would have happened by now. The Governor is not that type of person.
Jenny: Is it OK to wait to contribute until after the initiative qualifies?
Dave: No. If the initiative does not qualify, there will be no bond on the ballot and no campaign.
Jenny: Can the Governor or Legislature take our state school bond off the ballot after it qualifies?
Dave: No. The Constitution provides that once qualified, neither the Governor nor the Legislature can take the initiative off the ballot.
Jenny: Can the Governor just stop selling new state school bonds even if the voters approve the initiative?
Dave: While legally possible, it is politically impossible, especially given this Governor’s political philosophy. The Governor will not ignore the voters’ will as expressed in a direct vote. He does respect the voters’ will.
Jenny: Why are you asking private firms and individuals for a contribution? Shouldn’t school districts and developers fund the initiative?
Dave: Developers are matching the C.A.S.H. Issues Committee’s funds; they are contributing. Schools are legally prohibited from using public funds for initiative signature gathering and political campaigns.
We need your help TODAY. If we raise the money for the signatures a State School Bond WILL be on the ballot in 2016.
Click here to contribute online today to the C.A.S.H. Issues Committee
~ C.A.S.H. Staff