Appeals and Petitions

In the November 2008 Connecticut election the voters authorized a Constitutional amendment proposed by the legislature to allow 17 year olds to vote in State primaries if they turn 18 by the next election, November 2, 2010. This means that all 17 year olds should register NOW to vote.This will enable you to vote in (one or more depending upon party rules} primaries to be held in 2010. You can then also vote in the general election.
In the mean time, to exercise your new found freedom to vote why not become politically active by starting a petition to change the State's Constitution? My one day school wide (400 kids) civil sit down boycott of the high school cafeteria eliminated the daily repetitional use of raisins and peanut butter from the federal foods program. We did not have choice of menu as is the case today and a daily dose over an extended period of culinary creations for the same price was just too much to bear. Who would have known you could make so many things from these two ingrediants? One day and one detention later the menu was fixed.To this day I often wonder if I suffered long term effects and whatever happened to all those raisins and peanut butter? My mother would say the hungry children in China got the surplus.
In this petition you can cite the need for laws that you think are worthy with such examples as:
1. Choice of online education option for courses you need or would like to take and get credit in your local district.
2. The ability to play a sport or join an after school group in another district because your school does not have such a program.
3. The ability to take a course elsewhere for credit assuming transportation is available and scheduling permits.
4. More vacation. shorter days, no homework,... NO NO NO!!!!!!!!

Your petition would cite the need for a voter initiative in Connecticut for citizens to have direct democracy. Proposing legislation for consideration under guidelines to insure its legality and its up or down vote in a statewide referendum allows all voters to participate in government.The roots of our country started in Connecticut with the first Constitution (read the history) and this voter referendum puts the power in the hands of the people, directly.
Grab your history teacher, student activists, school newspaper and others to get this going. The petition needs authenticated signatures which can be accomplished with the local town registrar of voters. The target date is Ground Hog Day. Will he see the shining city of light on the hill as so described by Ronald Regan where the rest of the world looks to our beacon of hope for definition of freedom or will he see the darkness and shadow of the Berlin Wall that kept freedom out and the people in to be ruled under tyrants?

Time to Petition the Connecticut Legislature

In the Connecticut 2009 session of the Legislature there were numerous attempts by the towns and cities (local government) to seek property tax relief and moratoriums on mandates to balance their budgets.With little debate and less fanfare local government officials were dismissed, sometimes with little sympathy. The delay of the budget ultimately cost towns additional fees for borrowing while the budget was in impasse.
All of this rancor and lack of collaboration to give the voters at least a voice at the table in the form of those closest to them, local government. Still no action but rather a shift in reminding everyone of who is really in charge, the legislature, as if there were any doubt.The timing of the tea parties and the town hall meetings around the country also serve as an indicator of what is going on in case you forgot.They know best. They have the elitist knowledge to do the right thing. They prevail. You are not heard.
Towns are small. They are represented by the Legislature but town boundaries per house district and overlaps with other towns often conflict and contradict the local wishes of each town and its unique identity. Out of touch with towns, legislators render them useless in actually influencing state priorities. Increased burdens with few options allowed by legislators make the towns as an overall force for change irrelevant.
After many years of probate court mischief the powers in Hartford finally took action to solve the local court system problems.The budget problems nudged the State to take action.Some time later the towns ultimately created a consensus among themselves and agreed upon a formula without a mandate.Proof of town to town cooperation, perhaps under threat of mandate to come from Hartford, but an agreement none the less. Most importasntly, an example of towns cooperation with each other to fix the system, maintain service levels, and provide a cost effective solution for each town.
Based upon this success it would seem that the power of legislation initiated by towns as a statewide referendum could address a variety of issues including:
1. Establishing common interest infrastructural changes to represent fair and equitable educational disbursements
2. Addressing mandates that are not necessary for all towns of all sizes
3. Provisioning towns with shared or individualized resources to address selected mandates
4. Providing statewide bonding access by towns to the state's borrowing authority

In short, allowing towns to use legislation to address common local needs without the interferences of a statewide agenda exercised and imprinted by the legislature could be a useful tool. Especially in those cases when appeals to the legislature go unheeded and their ears go deaf.
The local town political party committes (Independants are welcome also) could start a petition drive to gather signatures soliciting voter interest in seeking a constitutional change to allow "voter initiative" and statewide referendums. Where local officials often use this technique,budget approvals for example, it is a rare occurance on a statewide basis.
With local political parties involvement such a campaign could then aggregate the local signed petitions certified by the local voter registrar for presentation to the legislature.It is not a given that the statewide political leadership would endorse such a project due to the threat to its power, but that is the whole point.
Nobody is listening to the local voters. The petition only proposes to the legislature that such a constitutional change is needed. With the outcry of the people appealing for grass roots democracy how could the legislature not listen? The revolution has just begun!