On Friday night, February 1st, the Florida Division of Elections announced the Hometown Democracy amendment had not qualified for the 2008 ballot. This was a successful end to another battle in a war to protect Florida's unique quality-of-life. Floridians for Smarter Growth will remain vigilant and continue to take our message to every Florida voter: Hometown Democracy is bad for hometowns and worse for Democracy.
Here are some highlights:
1) Hometown Democracy failed to qualify for the 2008 ballot for one reason: they did not gather enough signatures. There will be a lot of complaining and finger pointing out of the Hometown Democracy camp, but they simply fell short by 65,000 valid petitions.
2) Hometown Democracy failed three times to qualify for the ballot because it is a cynical, over-reaching and flawed idea. A tiny group created an extreme amendment and ignored the concerns of Florida's mainstream environment and growth-watch organizations. Without a coalition, they failed to gain support.
3) The Hometown Democracy proposal so badly over-reaches it failed to attract broad volunteer petitioning support. Instead, the effort relies heavily a few wealthy extremists to bankroll signature collection. Their money fueled a growing addiction to paid signatures – an expensive habit they could not sustain.
4) Floridians for Smarter Growth has built a formidable campaign to defeat the amendment as it will likely qualify for the 2010 ballot. Sign up for email updates - we'll keep you informed
- Michael Caputo, Exec. Dir.
