Editorial

 

Well done to those who helped collect 54,000 signatures in order to present a citizen initiative on next year's State ballot. Two of the original petition circulation committee live in Gray, Jack Wibby and Gary Foster.

Back in 1998, I was part of an original petition committee in Gray that collected signatures for a local initiative to present a charter change to the voters. We had to collect a few hundred signatures, not a few thousand. It was a lot of work. I can't even imagine looking at the rules, requirements, and amount of effort required to get a State-wide initiative on the ballot. But Jack and Gary, and all the other folks, including the indomitable Mary Adams, looked at the rules, took a deep breath, and plunged in. They did it.

I'm glad that we have local and state-wide citizen initiative processes and that they are viable and executed by a succession of people who believe in issues enough to put their effort where their mouth is. It's a testament to our democratic process that citizens can engage directly and offer items on the ballot. It's an arduous process, and it takes hard work and planning, but people like Mary Adams, and local residents Jack Wibby and Gary Foster show us it can be done.

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Editorial by Elizabeth Prata