Right-Wing Extremists Promote “Son” of Prop 90Paul Hogarthbyline‚ Dec. 04‚ 2006It takes a certain level of audacity to revive a proposition immediately after voters rejected it. But nobody ever claimed that right-wingers weren’t shameless, or that they didn’t have the funds to pay a “signature-gathering firm” to place whatever measure they want on the state ballot. In November 2005, California voters decisively rejected Proposition 73, which would have required teenage girls to notify their parents before getting an abortion. One year later, the same anti-choice millionaire who was behind it put it back on the ballot as Proposition 85 – only to have it lose by the same margin. Last month, voters rejected Proposition 90 by a five-point margin, which would have made it practically impossible for state or local government to put any reasonable restrictions on private property. Now the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has filed an initiative with the Attorney General’s Office that is dangerously similar to Prop 90. But unlike Prop 90, it would probably invalidate all existing rent control protections in California – and would also have a retroactive effect. Because it is likely to make the June 2008 ballot, concerned activists must act now to ensure its defeat. |