Dear Editor,
The effort to allow Clarke County voters the chance to go to the polls to decide whether the area will permit alcohol beverage sales in the future as a means of promoting economic and business growth, and bolstering tax revenue is being renewed to start 2017.
Collection of the necessary signatures to call for such a referendum was put on hold prior to November so as not to interfere with the recent presidential, congressional and judicial election cycle and to not overwhelm the Clarke County Circuit Clerk’s office, which has the unenviable task of legally verifying every eligible voter on this petition.
Now that the end-of-year state and national races are behind us, the effort to get the names of qualified residents on petitions to seek a local election that would ultimately allow voters to have their say on alcohol sales is being renewed with a sense of vigor and purpose.
The names received on petitions thus far are, once again, being carefully screened by county officials. Our goal is to have all the names in place for consideration by the end of January so that the Clarke County Board of Supervisors can set an election date and give time for all viewpoints to be expressed before citizens make an important decision on our future.
If you have already signed the petition, we thank you for taking the time to exercise your constitutional rights to petition the government for a vote of the people to consider this matter of community interest. Our mission is not to promote one particular view on alcohol sales over the other. Rather, our goal is to use the Democratic process established by our forefathers to bring the issue to a vote and allow all sides to express themselves as to why people should or should not support this initiative.
For those of you who have signed, please don’t do so again because there cannot be a duplication of names on our documents. Additionally, some of you that signed have been disqualified from the petition because the Circuit Clerk’s Office has found reasons to not count your name, including people signing even though they are not a resident nor are they registered to vote in Clarke County. Other reasons have included those who have moved and not updated their voter registration information or those that have been disenfranchised for legal reasons.
However, if you have not yet signed the petition calling for the vote, please do so as soon as possible. Make sure you are a legal resident of the county and have registered to vote. If you have not registered to vote or have a problem with your registration, make it a point to visit the Circuit Clerk’s Office before signing the petition.
Remember, signing this petition does not indicate you favor one side of the issue of alcohol sales or another – so please do not let people convince you that you do not have the right or responsibility to participate in the Democratic process.
The sole purpose of this petition is to call for a vote of all registered residents of Clarke County – where each man and woman will make a decision based on what he or she feels is the best direction for our communities in the future. It is said that the very definition of insanity is to keep doing the same things over and over again with the hope of getting a different result.
We feel that it is time for Clarke County residents and leaders to begin an open dialogue to determine what we want for the future of our communities. Is our desire to sit stagnant and continue to try to tax ourselves into prosperity or do we look to find ways to build our community economically and socially? Whatever your viewpoint, this initiative will at least help us begin talking about where we want to go and how we get there.
Tricia Arrington and Laurence Buckley
