Sponsor of initiative to overturn Shoreline’s plastic-bag ban says signature gathering is key
Friday, May 31, 2013
By Evan Smith
A sponsor of the initiative to overturn Shoreline's ban on plastic shopping bags says that the key to passing the initiative is gathering signatures
Initiative sponsor Tom Jamieson said Thursday that he believes that if sponsors can get valid signatures from the required 15 percent of registered Shoreline voters by mid-July, the group can get the initiative passed.
Jamieson said that an advantage of the fairly high threshold for qualifying the initiative – the high threshold that I reported two days ago -- is that getting signatures from 15 percent of registered voters gets the measure close to enough supporters to pass the measure.
He added that potential signers often are confused because they think they are being asked to support a ban rather than a repeal of a ban, He said that many residents don't know that the City Council has passed the ban.
Jamieson said that the group needs signature gatherers and that he wants those signature gatherers to return the petitions by July 13. That way, the group can submit the petitions to City officials July 15, which, he said, would allow King County elections officials time to validate signatures in time for the Shoreline City Council to act or not act on the initiative in late July.
The Council can pass the initiative to repeal the ordinance or let it go to voters. If the Council sends a measure to the County elections department by Aug. 6, it can appear on the November ballot. If not, it could appear on the February ballot, but that would be costly to the City, which would bear the total cost of a special election, whereas it already shares the cost of the November election with the County, the School District and several special-purpose districts.
The ordinance, as passed by the Council, would take effect in February. It would have exceptions for wrappings around meat, fresh vegetables, fresh flowers and take-out food. It also would ban non-recyclable paper bags.
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7 comments:
Besides banning non-recyclable paper carryout bags, the City's ordinance also requires retail estabishments to collect a taxable pass-through charge of at least $.05 per recyclable paper carryout bag from customers reqequesting them.
This attitude that we can use whatever product we want and the environment be damned is very short sighted. Let's face it, plastic bags are unnecessary and cause more harm than good. The same can be said about herbicides such as Round Up. When our orcas and local salmon runs disappear for good, will the pro Round Up, pro plastic crowd finally see their short sightedness? Look into the future and look past your self serving needs.
Easy, Picabo. Don't hurt yourself falling down that slippery slope. This is a petition to stop the regulation of the distribution of carryout bags, not a progrom against the environment. Our politicians do not for one minute believe that a ban such as this one will do an ounce of good for the environment. But they want you to believe it. And so do countries like China who profit from the resuable bag industry while simultaneously belching on record coal imports.
If you are serious about wanting to help our sea life, why not focus on the vast quantities of chewing gum and hair products which all contain plastic? Why not ban sunscreen, which not only fosters a false sense of safety for sunbathers, but which contains UV filters that continue to block sunlight when washed into the sea? Why not ban all the plastic containers and items that shoppers carry out in their reusable bags? Why not ban the thicker plastic bags, which are exempt? Why not ban the retail stores altogether, which only perpetuate this rape of the environment by modern civilization?
You are the short-sighted one.
To continue your skiing logic...I'd much prefer natural snow over man made. I'd much prefer a reusable bag over disposable. I'd much prefer a chemical free lawn and salmon.
Picabo
Looks like Jamieson doesn't believe in our votes for our elected officials matter much. I for one am happy that my elected City Council is representing the majority of voters in Shoreline. Maybe Jamieson should run for office. He's always opposed to whatever our City Council decides to do. Seems like it would be easier to run for office than to get so worked up about so many issues.
Perhaps Jamieson should run. I would vote for him in a heartbeat. He has his eye on the big picture. The only one who does, from the looks of it.
No one is seeking to "overturn" the plastic-bag ban. That would require a judicial action. Their initiative seeks to repeal the ban, which would be a legislative action.
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