cannabisnews.com: MJ Measure Backers Sue Over Opposition Account





MJ Measure Backers Sue Over Opposition Account
Posted by CN Staff on October 20, 2004 at 07:08:47 PT
By Dan Joling, Associated Press Writer
Source: News-Miner 
Anchorage -- A group pushing the ballot measure to legalize marijuana sued Lt. Gov. Loren Leman on Tuesday over his office's role in writing a statement of opposition in the Official Election Pamphlet.Yes on 2 seeks a court declaration that the role of Leman's office in writing the opposition statement to Proposition 2 was improper and unconstitutional.
The lawsuit also requests that the lieutenant governor acknowledge that his office acted improperly and distribute that information to voters.Leman was traveling outside Delta Junction and could not be reached for immediate comment. His chief of staff, Annette Kreitzer, said the office had done nothing improper."I don't believe they have any statutory or constitutional grounds to bring the suit," she said. "I think it's about publicity for legalizing marijuana in Alaska." Kreitzer acknowledged last week that she had prepared much of the 300-word statement opposing the initiative in the voters guide. The statement was signed by Dr. Charles M. Herndon, medical director at Providence Breakthrough, a drug and alcohol treatment center.Ballot Measure 2 would make it legal under state law for people 21 and older to grow, use, sell or give away marijuana. It also would allow for state regulation and taxation of marijuana.Kreitzer said that with the deadline looming for printing the pamphlet, she put together notes for an opposition view to the ballot measure. When Herndon agreed to write the statement, she said, she sent the notes to him."I would have done this for the other side too," she said. "I know that's hard for people to believe."The choice was Herndon's to use or discard, she said. She said she was surprised that Herndon made minimal changes."If I had known I was going to write a statement, I would have done a better job," she said.The voter pamphlet was sent to 300,000 Alaska voters.The wording similarity was revealed last week in a story by the Anchorage Press, a weekly newspaper.Ken Jacobus, a volunteer attorney for Yes on 2, said the actions by the lieutenant governor's office compromised the election process.Tim Hinterberger, one of the measure's sponsors, said it was outrageous that Leman and his staff ghostwrote the opposition statement."It's clear to us that he has crossed the line of neutrality, and if he has not directly violated his office, he most certainly has violated the spirit of his elected office," Hinterberger said.No pamphlet statement on an initiative has ever before been prepared by the lieutenant governor's office and no side has ever been notified that they had that right, the lawsuit said."The only significant duty of the lieutenant governor is to run impartial elections and he can't even get that right," Hinterberger said.Hinterberger said the disagreement with the statement is more on process than content.There are medical issues in the use of marijuana, he said, as pointed out in the anti-marijuana statement, which is why it should be dealt with by the medical community and not law enforcement."Even if it were as bad as portrayed, it's not something that people should be put in prison for," he said.The lawsuit claimed Leman's office had access to the pamphlet statement in support of the ballot measure, a contention Kreitzer denied.Kreitzer said Leman cannot escape his public record in the Legislature as a marijuana opponent. Ballot measure supporters are trying to use that to their advantage, she said.Complete Title: Marijuana Measure Backers Sue Over Opposition AccountSource: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (AK)Author:  Dan Joling, Associated Press WriterPublished: Wednesday, October 20, 2004 Copyright: 2004 Fairbanks Publishing Company, Inc.Contact: letters newsminer.comWebsite: http://www.news-miner.com/ Related Articles & Web Site:Yes on 2 Alaskahttp://www.yeson2alaska.com/Anti-Pot Passage in Voter Guide Draws Firehttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19658.shtmlAnti-Pot Fight Comes To Fairbankshttp://cannabisnews.com/news/thread19647.shtmlAlaskans To Vote on Pot Legalization in '04 http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread18067.shtml
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Comment #4 posted by kaptinemo on October 20, 2004 at 12:47:29 PT:
What is the sound of one hand (bitch)slapping?
The sounds due to emanate from the offices of the Lt. Guv'nuh of Alaska might provide an answer. At some point, these collective, ongoing violations of the Hatch Act will be brought before a court not beholden to special interests or politcal parties, and said court will rule the only way it should: that those who have indeed violated their oaths of office in pulling stunts like this will see time in jail.
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Comment #3 posted by FoM on October 20, 2004 at 12:31:46 PT
More Trouble for Leman
OpinionPublished: October 20, 2004Ghostwriting ballot statement is one more mark against himLt. Gov. Loren Leman just doesn't get it. He doesn't seem to understand that his only real job under the Alaska Constitution is to oversee state elections with complete integrity. Instead, he keeps using and abusing elections processes like a political hack on the stump. The latest example of the lieutenant governor's excesses? In producing the official state election pamphlet, his office surreptitiously wrote most of the statement that appears in opposition to Ballot Measure 2. This was not a case where staff ran amok while the boss wasn't watching. Mr. Leman's chief of staff, Annette Kreitzer, told the Daily News that her boss clearly wanted Dr. Charles M. Herndon to be the person who wrote the statement against taxing and regulating marijuana. Lt. Gov. Leman rejected a request by former federal prosecutor Wev Shea to produce the statement in opposition. When Mr. Shea suggested two other possible authors, Lt. Gov. Leman declined to contact them. He insisted on Dr. Herndon.The problem, according to Ms. Kreitzer, was that Dr. Herndon wouldn't commit to doing the job. Ms. Kreitzer prepared a suitable argument, and Lt. Gov. Leman forwarded it to Dr. Herndon. In an e-mail, to Lt. Gov. Leman wrote Dr. Herndon, "Thank you for considering my request for you to sign this statement, revise it, or write a statement of your own. ... Please call me at 269-7460 or e-mail your answer today if possible." With slight modifications, the text from Mr. Leman's e-mail is the language that appeared under Dr. Herndon's name in the voter pamphlet, arguing against Measure 2.Ms. Kreitzer was unrepentant. She just cut and pasted easily available information from the FBI Web site, she said in an interview. The material was not specifically prepared for Dr. Herndon; it was for whoever would have agreed to write it. The notion that the state's top election official should not be ghostwriting statements on either side of a ballot measure didn't register at all. What Lt. Gov. Leman has done is equivalent to a judge feeding legal arguments to one side in a pending case. It makes Alaskans wonder in what other ways Mr. Leman might use his office to tip the election scales. Lt. Gov. Leman's underhanded ballot measure advocacy is hardly the first time his bias has influenced his official election duties. His record includes four courtroom defeats in handling the U.S. Senate special election initiative, which he personally opposes. And it includes unnecessary and prejudicial rewording in the description of two other initiatives that will appear on November's ballot.Alaska's Constitution entrusts the lieutenant governor with the job of making sure elections are conducted honestly, fairly and with complete neutrality. It does not envision the lieutenant governor ghostwriting advocacy statements for one side or another in any election fight.No other lieutenant governor in Alaska's history has come close to Mr. Leman's record of using his authority over elections to tilt things the way he wants. Lt. Gov. Leman has repeatedly failed to do his job with the integrity and objectivity Alaskans have a right to expect. BOTTOM LINE: Lt. Gov. Leman has added another sorry chapter to his record of mishandling election duties. Snipped:Complete Article: http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/5691063p-5623969c.html
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Comment #2 posted by siege on October 20, 2004 at 11:09:56 PT
                Lt. Gov.
 But what are these ads, backed by the protectors of the city, really selling? This campaign's only major media tool seems to be telling voters, over and over, that their hometown resembles a bad Refer madness movie.Ted Brader, a University of Michigan expert in political advertising, notes that fear-inducing ads serve mostly to make viewers more attentive to facts about the issues raised. Voters may find out from the news that the Web ads are false, And GOV'T inspired to beat the people UP so they don't Vote for something that is Good for them and the rest of the nation. Lt. Gov. Loren Leman is trying to make this look like a bad teen slasher movie. crime isn't at record levels and middle-class neighborhoods aren't plagued with violent The only home invaders is the Lt. Gov. Office and the D E A. The result could be ballot backlash.crime isn't at record levels and middle-class neighborhoods aren't plagued with violent home invaders. The result could be ballot backlash
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Comment #1 posted by E_Johnson on October 20, 2004 at 07:53:30 PT
This is feeling good
They screw us, we sue them. I like that approach.
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