Court Nabs Anti-Union ABC for “Posing as a Voter” in Order to Sponsor Ballot Measure

http://wepartypatriots.com/wp/2014/06/19/court-nabs-anti-union-abc-for-posing-as-a-voter-in-order-to-sponsor-ballot-measure/

In a 2-1 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Associated Builders and Contractors attempted to sponsor a ballot initiative while posing as a voter and that “compelling disclosure violates the First Amendment right to anonymous speech.” The decision in Chula Vista Citizens vs. Norris could set a new legal precedent, that “corporations and organizations can’t sponsor ballot measures, only people can.”

Some background on the case comes from the court’s opinion: http://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2014/06/16/12-55726.pdf

This case arises from a political battle concerning labor unions. Chula Vista Citizens for Jobs and Fair Competition (“Chula Vista Citizens”), an unincorporated association, and Associated Builders and Contractors of San Diego, Inc., an incorporated association of construction-related businesses (“the Associations”), sought to place an initiative on the Chula Vista municipal ballot. As described by the title of the initiative, the proposed measure “mandat[ed] that the City or Redevelopment Agency not fund or contract for public works projects where there [was] a requirement to use only union employees.” The City of Chula Vista requires that initiative proponents be electors (“the elector requirement”), which excludes non-natural persons from serving as official proponents. Faced with this obstacle, Chula Vista Citizens asked two of its members, Lori Kneebone and Larry Breitfelder, to serve as proponents in place of the Associations. They agreed…

Kneebone and Breitfelder made two attempts to qualify the initiative for the ballot. The first attempt (“First Petition”) began on August 28, 2008, with the filing of the notice of intent. Kneebone and Breitfelder later submitted 23,285 signatures to Norris after having complied with all the requirements except one: They had not included their names on the notice that appeared on the circulated petitions.

FULL story at link.

About the Author: Steve Cooper
employd [at] wepartypatriots [dot] com -- Steve Cooper is the editor of We Party Patriots. He manages its Twitter (@WePartyPatriots) and Facebook (/WePartyPatriots) accounts, so there are many ways to contact him. Cooper is an avid chef and musician.