The people can vote on those obnoxious red-light cameras and speed cameras- ruling provides 2 benefits
Today, the state supreme court rejected the plea of Arizona’s red-light camera company, American Traffic Solutions (ATS), to prevent Mukilteo voters from voting on our initiative in November. The two sentence ruling (we don’t have it yet, but it is available) gave the voters two huge victories:
1) They rejected the request for expedited review — since today is the day the county will print ballots and voters pamphlets, then that means it’s guaranteed that no matter what the voters in Mukilteo will see Mukilteo Initiative No. 2 on the November ballot.
2) They will hear the case later — this means they will eventually make a definitive ruling on whether local voters have the right to vote on local initiatives. The state supreme court has been adamant, issuing two unanimous 9-0 rulings that when it comes to state initiatives, that the voters have a right to vote and no legal roadblocks are allowed to block a vote on statewide initiatives. But the courts have issued a mixed bag of decisions when it comes to local initiatives, sometimes preventing local initiatives that turn in enough signatures to not be voted on. By agreeing to hear the case, the High Court has given themselves the opportunity to make clear that local voters have the same right to vote on local initiatives as state voters do on state initiatives.
Today’s supreme court ruling clears the way for a groundbreaking November vote on those obnoxious red-light cameras and speed cameras.
WHY THIS IS A BIG DEAL: It’ll be the first time in Washington that a city has ever allowed its citizens to vote on whether they want red-light cameras and speed cameras (over 20 cities have them and more are being added every year). If they’re rejected by Mukilteo voters in November, it’ll have statewide implications for new cities thinking of putting them up, expansion of cameras in existing cities and it’ll encourage efforts by activists forcing public votes on cameras in other cities, and will likely spur the Legislature to address the cities’ Big Brother, profit-making scheme.
WHAT MUKILTEO INITIATIVE NO. 2 DOES:
* Reverses the decision by the Mukilteo City Council to install red-light cameras and speed cameras
* Requires a majority vote of the people for the city to conduct for-profit cameras surveillance on the citizenry with red-light cameras and speed cameras.
* Removes the profit-motive for cameras by limiting the fines to the cost of the least expensive parking ticket in Mukilteo (Everett Herald reports that’d be $20)
We have great legal representation, from Groen Stephens Law Firm. But we still need your help to pay for the legal fees. Please make a generous donation, every bit counts. To continue the fight, please make a donation online through our fellow co-sponsor of the initiative, Washington Campaign for Liberty
We appreciate everything you have done to help us push back Big Brother and create a safer driving experience, people like you really make a difference. We have successfully passed many milestones along our journey to end photo-fraud statewide and we are anxious to report the next victory, thank you for your contribution.
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