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Our voices will be heard!
The Montana Plan (I-194) surpassed its goal of petition signatures required to be on the ballot in November! Ordinary people, consumers, and ratepayers are finally demanding that our elected representatives listen to us, instead of being beholden to large donors or corporations with unlimited funds to confound our thoughts about political issues and squelch our voices.
But before volunteers could even congratulate ourselves on a job well done and leave it to the voters to decide the outcome of the initiative in the November election, the Chamber of Commerce took a preemptive strategy to shut it down. They sent out letters, along with the appropriate form, to get petition signers to recant their signature. Why? Good question.
I’m suggesting it’s because they enjoy the privilege of the status quo: the power they have to control voters’ perceptions about candidates or issues on the ballot through dark money. It was my experience as a volunteer signature gatherer that either individuals knew about the Montana Plan (I-194) and were eager to sign it, or they needed a little more time and/or information about the initiative and became convinced it aligned with their values.
Petition signers: please do not allow the Chamber to drown out your voice in elections by filling out that form and recanting your signature. Stand firm in your beliefs. Now that you’ve signed, vote FOR the Montana Plan in November. Democracy demands that we use our voices to overcome the undue influence of the dark money in our elections.
- Peggy Cordell, Missoula Volunteer
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