Message-ID: <19981112020448.AAC26336@LOCALNAME> Date: Wed, 11 Nov 1998 22:59:46 -0400 From: Kerry Miller <mailto:kerryo@NS.SYMPATICO.CA> Subject: ARCATA PASSES MEASURE F (was: A place to start To: mailto:DEVEL-L@AMERICAN.EDU
If the state won't do it, the city can.
------- Forwarded Message Follows ------- Date sent: Tue, 10 Nov 1998 22:29:05 -0600 (CST) From: Sid Shniad <mailto:shniad@sfu.ca> Subject: CAL: ARCATA PASSES MEASURE F ON DEMOCRACY & CORPORATE IMPUNITY
To: Journal and Newspaper Editors, Social Movement Allies, and Friends, From: Paul Cienfuegos, Founding Director, Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County (California)
The following article contains 683 words. We would be very appreciative if you would reprint it in your next issue and/or share it widely with your friends and allies. We want very much for a huge number of Americans, of all political stripes, to become aware of the ground-breaking work that we are doing in Arcata, CA. If you do choose to reprint the article, we ask that you send us THREE FREE COPIES.
Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions.
Paul Cienfuegos Director, Democracy Unlimited
POB 27, Arcata CA 95518 707-822-2242, fax 3481 mailto:cienfuegos@igc.org new web site: www.monitor.net/democracyunlimited
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Article Title: ARCATA VOTERS OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORT BALLOT "MEASURE F" ON DEMOCRACY AND CORPORATIONS
(THE FIRST BALLOT INITIATIVE OF ITS KIND IN U.S. HISTORY)
On Tuesday, November 3rd, the small city of Arcata, CA made history. By a vote of 3193 to 2056 (60.83% to 39.17%), the citizens of Arcata left no doubt that they consider the power of large corporations in our society and in our community to be a very significant issue which needs to be addressed in a meaningful way.
"The Arcata Advisory Measure on Democracy and Corporations", known as Measure F, was sponsored by Citizens Concerned About Corporations, a spin-off project of Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County which has been active in the local area since 1996.
Measure F calls on the City Council to: 1) co-sponsor (in cooperation with the drafters of this Initiative) two town hall meetings in the five months following passage of this ballot measure on the topic: "Can we have democracy when large corporations wield so much power and wealth under law?";
2) immediately act to establish, through the creation of an official committee, policies and programs which ensure democratic control over corporations conducting business within the city, in whatever ways are necessary to ensure the health and well-being of our community and its environment;
3) immediately forward copies of this ballot measure to all of our elected representatives at the county, state, and federal levels, and to members of the press.
We were overwhelmed by the level of excitement expressed by local residents about Measure F. It won local endorsements from the Central Labor Council of Humboldt and Del Norte Counties, Mayor Jim Test, Vice-Mayor Jason Kirkpatrick, city council candidate Bradley Freeman, the Associated Students of Humboldt State University, two local businesses, and many individuals. Nationally it also garnered attention. Three of our favorite citizen activists endorsed it: Jim Hightower (who had us on his talk show thrice), Howard Zinn, and Noam Chomsky. The San Francisco Bay Guardian also endorsed it on its cover dated October 28, and will be running a major article about it soon. Finally, in Seattle, a group of citizen activists has already begun planning a similar ballot initiative for an upcoming election.
The only opposition we encountered was from the Arcata Chamber of Commerce which did not organize against us, and from the Times-Standard, the local corporate daily owned by MediaNews Group Corporation, the seventh largest newspaper owning corporation in the country, based in Colorado.
With a steering committee of six dedicated individuals, only one of whom had ever worked on an initiative campaign, we tackled task after task with gusto. We placed over 100 yard signs across the community. We hung leaflets on thousands of doorknobs. We brought Richard Grossman (Co-Director of The Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy) and Dan Hamburg (Green Party candidate for governor of California) to speak at a major forum entitled "Reckoning With the Corporate Attack on Democracy". We tabled, leafleted, bannered, fundraised, and too much more even to think about. (We're all VERY exhausted!)
Now the real work begins: launching a city-wide democratic conversation on the proper role of corporations in our society and our community. Given our rights as We The People of Arcata, and our responsibilities to protect our community from harms caused by our corporate creations, how well have we been doing? What would self-governance look like if giant corporations no longer participated in our political and cultural institutions? Did previous generations of Arcatans struggle to keep corporations subordinate to citizens? We intend to engage the entire city in this discussion. As far as we know, this is the first American city ever to attempt such a process.
In January, we will be meeting with the entire City Council to discuss how to begin implementation of Measure F. Our goal is to hold the first town hall meeting by the end of February, but the city's bureaucratic requirements may slightly delay this date. After both town hall meetings are completed sometime in April, the City will create the Arcata Commission on Democracy and Corporations, which will have its first meeting sometime during the summer of 1999.
For more information about Democracy Unlimited or its spin-off organization, please send at least $2 to us at POB 27, Arcata CA 95518, or check out our new web site at <www.monitor.net/democracyunlimited>. Or better yet - join our small but busy organization for a mere $25 ($15 low income) and receive four newsletters, and discounts on a plethora of articles, books, and audio tapes.
Paul Cienfuegos Director, Democracy Unlimited
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QUOTES OF ENDORSEMENT YOU MAY WISH TO USE WITH THE ARTICLE:
"The Arcata Initiative is a unique historic event. It is wonderfully encouraging to see what ordinary citizens can do to challenge corporate power in the interest of true democracy." (Howard Zinn)
"[T]he good citizens of Arcata have the historic chance to fire a shot that will be heard 'round the world. Sign the petition to begin reclaiming the people's sovereignty over corporations. It's the patriotic thing to do!" (Jim Hightower)
"The achievements and plans in Arcata provide an inspiring model of what popular democracy can achieve in constructing a world designed for human beings, not profit and power - for today and for the long-term future." (and) "The Measure F questions address some of the major issues of the contemporary world. The conflict between democracy and corporations is apparent. Its significance is measured by the power of these unaccountable private tyrannies, granted extraordinary rights by radical judicial activism that tore to shreds the foundations of classical liberalism and Enlightenment values. On the scale and import of this power, comment is hardly necessary. The implications are vast for every aspect of human life. The initiatives that are being undertaken at Arcata are a most welcome and constructive effort to address these fundamental problems." (Noam Chomsky, on two different occasions)
"I support the adoption of Measure F, because we need to begin a discussion about the impact that large corporations have on our cultural and political institutions. I think it is appropriate that the discussion start in Arcata." Mayor Jim Test
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FULL TEXT OF MEASURE F: THE ARCATA ADVISORY MEASURE ON DEMOCRACY AND CORPORATIONS
The People of the city of Arcata do ordain as follows:
WHEREAS, The U.S. Constitution establishes the principle that "We the People" hold sovereign power to govern ourselves;
WHEREAS, Historically in this nation, corporations were created to be and were regarded as artificial entities, chartered only to serve the public interest, cause no harm, and at all times be subordinate to the sovereign people;
WHEREAS, The California Constitution of 1879 contained the following passage (similar to many other state constitutions): "... the exercise of the police power of the state shall never be so abridged or construed as to permit corporations to conduct their business in such manner as to infringe the rights of individuals or the general well-being of the State." (Article XII, Section 8);
WHEREAS, A century ago, large corporations began an effort to transform the law and claim civil and political rights and privileges which were intended only for real human beings under the Constitution, including full participation in our democratic processes (such as unlimited spending to influence elections);
WHEREAS, Over the last century, large corporations were also successful in removing the language in most state constitutions (including California's) which had asserted citizen authority over corporations;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, That the People of Arcata support the amending of the California Constitution so as to clearly declare the authority of citizens over all corporations. To this end, we request that our City Council co-sponsor (in cooperation with the drafters of this Initiative) two town hall meetings in the five months following passage of this ballot measure on the topic: "Can we have democracy when large corporations wield so much power and wealth under law?";
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the People of Arcata request that the city government of Arcata immediately act to establish, through the creation of an official committee, policies and programs which ensure democratic control over corporations conducting business within the city, in whatever ways are necessary to ensure the health and well-being of our community and its environment;
AND BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, That the People of Arcata request our city government to immediately forward copies of this ballot measure to all of our elected representatives at the county, state, and federal levels, and to members of the press.