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>About the referendum - let's get the word out on this one.
>annie wrote these comments: Getting the electorate to vote "NO".
>
>BYLINE:
>CREDITLINE:
>HEADLINE: Editorial: Sneak attack / Revenge motivates a referendum
>
>Mischief is lurking near the bottom of the ballot that Hennepin County
>voters will soon consider.
>After the long list of candidates for federal, state and county offices,
>following the contests for supervisor in a couple of soil and water
>conservation districts, is a referendum question on whether the Hennepin
>(Soil and Water) Conservation District should continue to exist.
>It's likely that most voters will have given this matter little
>thought. It's probable that many, pressed to make a snap judgment,
>will figure an urban county no longer needs this rural-sounding agency.
>And it's possible that some inclined to give the district the benefit
>of their doubts will vote "yes" -- which, given the ballot wording, is a
>vote to terminate the conservation district.
>Legitimate efforts at government reform do not work in this way. They rely
>on vigorous argument and voter mobilization -- not expectations of public
>ignorance, indifference or confusion -- to carry the day.
>But this move to abolish the conservation district is not really about
>reform. It was launched by a Corcoran landowner who got into trouble with
>the Department of Natural Resources over his handling of a wetland, and
>blames the conservation district for his troubles. He found an old state
>law, apparently never used until now, authorizing such a referendum if
>just 25 citizens sign a petition to ask for one.
>Of course that ridiculously low hurdle should be raised by the next
>Legislature. But in the meantime, Hennepin County voters should be
>thinking about the reasons to vote "No" on this question Nov. 5 and keep
>the district in operation.
>For starters, the Hennepin Conservation District provides valuable
>services to the county and its residents. Small cities, townships and
>watershed boards rely on its technical assistance in evaluating
>development proposals, to assure that environmental harm will be minimized
>or mitigated. The decision-making authority remains with those
>governmental bodies; the conservation district's function is only to
>look at the facts and offer advice, not to issue permits or impose penalties.
>The district also offers a range of educational and training services. It
>provides teachers with locally focused instructional materials on
>conservation subjects. It helps volunteer groups plan their preservation
>and restoration efforts. It helps administer grants to landowners for
>wetland protection and erosion control. It assists individuals who want to
>improve their property management with environmental stewardship in mind
>-- which benefits their neighbors, too. (Residents who might want to take
>advantage of these services can get more details from the district's
>Web site: http://www.hcd.hennepin.mn.us.)
>It's really anyone's guess just what would happen if, for the
>first time, a Minnesota conservation district was abolished. With
>legislative approval, some of its functions could be taken over by county
>agencies. Some might have to be assumed by state agencies, inevitably more
>remote from local concerns and context.
>Naturally the people behind this referendum aren't saying much about
>that, or about anything else to do with the ballot measure. Rather than
>campaigning, they're lying low, counting on voter ignorance and apathy
>to give one disgruntled developer his revenge.
>And that disrespect for the electorate, all by itself, is reason enough to
>vote "no" next month. Reasonable folks can disagree about how government
>should be structured and public services delivered, but they ought to air
>those differences openly and honestly. This move is sheer sneaky mischief,
>and it needs to be put down.
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