As we noted yesterday, Az Star reporter Lourdes Medrano's story is all about Oro Valley personnel telling me I must form a Political Committee as a result of my endorsement of Bill Garner & Salette Latas for Town Council.
Utilizing the graciousness of Clint Bolick, with the blessing of his Board of Directors, the prestigious Goldwater Institute Center For Constitutional Litigation was, and is willing to take legal action on my behalf against Oro Valley if necessary. Mr. Bolick is quoted in the article stating: "The clear intent of the town was to silence political opposition."
Please read Ms. Medrano's excellent article here.
http://www.azstarnet.com/metro/220706
On a personal note, I want to thank the few people who knew about the town's action against me, and gave me the impetus to stand up for my Freedom of Speech Rights. Even more so, I am extremely grateful to Mr. Bolick and the Goldwater Institute for their outstanding support.
http://www.goldwaterinstitute.org/AboutUs/ArticleView.aspx?id=1979
Art
9 comments:
I just received the following email from Tom Jenney, Executive Director of Arizona Taxpayers.
******************************************
Art--- Your controversy may help to preserve freedom of speech throughout the state of Arizona.
In Phoenix, I think the rule is that you have to register as a PAC if you do more than $500 worth of promotion for a candidate or an issue during a campaign.
I could see the politicians (and their taxpayer-funded lawyers) making the determination that blog posts are worth X dollars, and adding them up to exceed $500. Every blogger would have to register as a PAC, just to be on the safe side.
If we don’t stand up for free speech, that’s what we can look forward to.
[Feel free to post my comments on the LOVE blog.]
For Liberty,
--Tom
Tom Jenney
Executive Director
Arizona Federation of Taxpayers
a State Chapter of Americans for Prosperity
vc@aztaxpayers.org
(602) 478-0146
So should the Explorer register as a PAC for running that stupid article about the missing political signs that mentioned only the incumbents' names and implicated the supporters of the challengers? How much was that publicity piece worth?
I just read the article online and came right to your blog to offer my support.
I may not live in Oro Valley, but the actions of the town council scares me.
As a private citizen, you can post signs in your yards, put bumper stickers on you car, wear buttons t-shirts and hats supporting the candidate of your choice. Doing the same thing via the web is no different. If bloggers must register, then everyone that displays any type of support for a candidate would have to also.
This intimidation tactic is clearly an attempt to silence critics of the government. The 1st Amendment to the Constitution was written to prevent this very thing.
This is not a liberal, conservative, Republican, Democratic, Green cause. This is about the Constitutionally protected right of free speech.
I hope that groups and organizations from across the spectrum join in supporting you against this clear violation of the 1st Amendment by a government entity.
Art and the Zeeman, Thank you both for running this blog. I feel like the town officials who authorized this harrasment have slapped each and every citizen of Oro Valley in the face.
The citizens should demand an explanation!!!
Thank God for guys like Clint Bolick Not only is he standing up for you he is standing up for all of us.
It appears that the Town of Oro Valley, propelled by the current administration, has evolved into a cauldron of tyrrany. They toy with the Oro Valley zoning rules and regulations, they forgo the dictates of the Arizona Constitution relative to EDAs, they muddy the requirements of that same document relative to General Plan and other change processes, they ignore the governing Arizona Constitution's stated requirements for promoting the inclusion of our citizenry in those same processes, they play with semantic realities of the written word, they appear to convene in 'back room' politics in order to surreptitiously pave their way to hidden agendas,
and, in public forums, as a means to intimidate, they heap their wrath upon those who may dissent. And now, they have the utter gall to attempt a legal action in order to silence a faction that dares to challenge. To the extent that the Town of Oro Valley seeks to "reject freedom and individual rights" (reference Roger D. Griffin, B.A., P.H.D. Professor, Department of History, Oxford Brooks University), are we now being immersed in a bitter taste of fascism?`
Thank you Art and Zeeman for starting this blog as a means to keep OV citizens informed of the issues, which I believe is Freedom of Speech.
I don't view this site as political. It's a means of discussing the issues and sharing information important to the citizens.
We can't get the information anywhere else.
OV does not print meeting minutes in the paper, and when there should be a "live stream" if it is a controversial agenda, the feed is usually down. If you ask questions or make suggestions at a Town Council meeting you get laughed at or ignored. If you send emails to Town officials, you don't get replies.
It is only through a blog, that we have a chance to inform and share.
Thank you Clint Bolick.
Raindancer
The OV government is decending into Talibanesqe regulation.
Stop them. Vote!
So does the Arizona Daily Star have to register as a Political Action Committee when they endorse candidates? Does the Explorer have to register as a PAC when they endorse candidates? How about the Chamber of Commerce? They also endorse candidates. Must they register as a PAC? The list goes on and on.
Loomis and his cronies tried to silence OV1st. They failed. Now they're trying to silence the LOVE site blog. In a way, this is good news. OV1st and the LOVE site have clearly made an impact on the town or they wouldn't be trying so hard to silence us all!
Don't worry, Art. You've got Clint Bolick on your side, and all of OV1st, and everyone who writes on this blog, and I've noticed that the number of bloggers increases every time this town pulls another one of its antics. Our town "leaders" continue to unwittingly help our cause...and they don't even realize it!
The more I think about this situation the more angry I get.
Oro Valley is more concerned about a possible lack of adherence to a
campaign or election rule then in what is most likely an illegal contract with Vestar giving away millions and millions of the towns sales tax money!!
That is ok with them?
What is wrong with this picture?
Post a Comment