Earthjustice and Rebecca McGovern have followed through on their
threat to appeal the Nov. 19 decision that struck down their
attempt to have Measure G removed from the March ballot and put
into law.
This is an outrageous waste of time and money for San Benito
County and a direct assault on our local citizens’ right to
vote.
The out-of-county environmental group and its lawyers are
arguing over how the signatures were gathered and the language of
the law involved
– and they claim it has nothing to do with the issue itself.
That’s baloney.
Earthjustice and Rebecca McGovern have followed through on their threat to appeal the Nov. 19 decision that struck down their attempt to have Measure G removed from the March ballot and put into law.
This is an outrageous waste of time and money for San Benito County and a direct assault on our local citizens’ right to vote.
The out-of-county environmental group and its lawyers are arguing over how the signatures were gathered and the language of the law involved – and they claim it has nothing to do with the issue itself.
That’s baloney.
What’s really happening is that Earthjustice is attempting to use its money – a sizable chunk of it gathered from recovered attorneys fees – and muscle to circumvent a vote of the people.
Judge Robert Yonts, an impartial visiting judge, thoroughly reviewed their initial claim and promptly tossed it out on its ear.
We are confident it will be quickly dismissed at the next level as well.
But the continued litigation is not only draining money from honest folks’ pockets after a vote has been set, it is a major distraction from what should be happening: Education on the complex and crucial issue.
Again, we applaud the efforts of the SBC Consensus Building Workshops and invite you to visit our Web site at www.freelancenews.com to review the entire Measure G and an excellent comparison with similar measures, a Measure G matrix provided by well-respected county resident Franz Schneider.
If you would like to see some interesting – and we feel alarming – information, background, contradictions and scare tactics, visit the Earthjustice Web site at www.earthjustice.org.
Earthjustice should go home to Oakland and find a better cause to spend its millions of dollars to supposedly protect the environment.
Measure G was put on the ballot after more than 5,000 residents legally put it there.
A vote of the smart and dedicated people of San Benito County will decide this issue, not McGovern and her malicious and misguided out-of-county legal bullies.
