Dori: City of Olympia breaks law to urge no votes on 976

The City of Olympia is committing an action that is blatantly, egregiously illegal.

The city spent its residents’ tax dollars sending out mailers telling voters to vote no on I-976.

RCW 42.17A.555 states:

No elective official nor any employee of his or her office nor any person appointed to or employed by any public office or agency may use or authorize the use of any of the facilities of a public office or agency, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of assisting a campaign for election of any person to any office or for the promotion of or opposition to any ballot proposition. Facilities of a public office or agency include, but are not limited to, use of stationery, postage, machines, and equipment, use of employees of the office or agency during working hours, vehicles, office space, publications of the office or agency, and clientele lists of persons served by the office or agency.

Dori: I-976 is not about Eyman — it’s so much bigger

The City of Olympia lists the following as reasons to vote no on I-976 in the flier:

– A major funding loss for City [sic] street improvements and repairs

– Pavement conditions would suffer and planned projects would not be completed

– The safety and performance of our transportation system would be at risk

And then next to these statements, they show a bunch of photos of potholes around Olympia.

This is the government spending taxpayer money to tell people how to vote on a citizens’ initiative. That is blatantly illegal.

What will the consequences be? The Elections Commission will tell the city of Olympia that what it did was wrong, and will give it a slap on the wrist.

I truly believe that people should go to prison for this. If you try to manipulate an election to control billions of dollars, you belong in prison. That is the message we should be sending taxpayers.

You and I just want to save a few hundred dollars for our families. I’m standing up for the people who want to spend a few hundred more dollars on their kids, on their family vacation.

But the most powerful forces imaginable will stop at nothing to control billions of our dollars, whether through sending out duplicate ballots or these these illegal fliers. What chance do you and I have when we are up against a movement like this? That is why we all most vote yes on I-976.

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