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<div>I can hardly believe I find myself on the same side of an
argument as Commissioner Vasquez, but Prop 2 cuts across all divides.
>From today's Statesman.</div>
<div><br></div>
<div>m.</div>
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<div><font color="#000000"><br>
Robert Vasquez: Prop 2 will gut local land-use process for benefit of
a very few<br>
By Robert Vasquez</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">Edition Date: 10/19/06</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">As I am soon to leave the office of Canyon
County commissioner, District 1, I am compelled to express the
following opposition to Proposition 2 on the November ballot.<br>
<br>
It will have onerous implications if passed, not just for county
funding of expected services to our respective communities, but more
importantly, in the deception being perpetrated upon my fellow
American citizens of the great state of Idaho.<br>
<br>
There is, in my opinion, a concerted effort by out-of-state developers
like New York's real estate tycoon Howie Rich, and property-rights
activists in Idaho to deceive the voter into passing this flawed
legislation. Howie Rich creates and funds organizations like Club for
Growth that enable his companies to buy up land for development
regardless of how it effects the communities involved.<br>
<br>
Let me set the stage by reiterating the collusion between Idaho's
1st Congressional District candidate, Bill Sali, and the Club for
Growth.<br>
<br>
Club for Growth bought the candidacy of Bill Sali for a mere $330,000
(more or less) in soft money, negative campaign ads. Then Laird
Maxwell, a staunch Sali supporter, steps forward with this Proposition
2 proposal, under the guise of "free market, private property
rights" that would, of course, strike a chord with the Idaho
sense of independence. What Mr. Maxwell does not disclose in his
efforts is the fact that the Club for Growth has contributed to the
funding to get Proposition 2 on the November ballot.<br>
<br>
Now enters Bill Sali, still serving as a member of the Idaho House of
Representatives, professing to be a low-taxes, small government
conservative Republican, who voted in August to raise the Idaho sales
tax by 20 percent, but makes no comment when asked about his position
on Proposition 2.<br>
<br>
Why? Because Club for Growth is guiding both campaigns, in hopes of
fooling the Idaho voter once again into giving up their congressional
representation to corporate greed, and the citizens' right to
testify in opposition at land use hearings under the existing land use
law.<br>
<br>
As the land use law stands today, eminent domain, if exercised, must
fairly, at market value, compensate the property owner.<br>
<br>
If passed, Proposition 2 would simply bypass the citizen, and take the
case directly to district court, where your tax dollars would pay for
any amount decided on by the court. So the developer gets the
property, you pay the landowner, and no one benefits but the
attorneys, developers and very few landowners. This is not Oklahoma,
and Idaho county commissioners are, politically speaking, far closer
to their constituents than those in more densely populated states like
Oklahoma.<br>
<br>
So Proposition 2 is a 20-pound sledge being used by Club for Growth,
Laird Maxwell and Bill Sali to drive a 10-penny nail into the heart of
Idaho's local government process.<br>
<br>
Let me urge my constituents and fellow Idahoans not to be deceived by
the Club for Growth's siren song on Proposition 2. Let us send a
message to the Club for Growth, and their puppets, Laird Maxwell and
Bill Sali, that Idaho is not for sale. Vote "no" on
Proposition 2.<br>
<br>
Robert Vasquez is a Canyon County commissioner.</font></div>
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