I am voting yes. But to go along with the lack of publicity i received this email this morning from one of the groups pulling for a yes vote. Worcester is the 3rd largest city in the state. Thats alot of people who may not get the chance to voice their opinion if this city council vote finds against it. Its ridiculous that this small group of people has this much control over a ballot question that was legally added to this years voting. The gerenal public need to decide this not 12 people in a city council meeting.URGENT: Worcester City Council Seeks to Undermine Question 2 Call Before 6:00 p.m.!Urgent! The Worcester City Council has bypassed the Public Hearing process and placed an item on todays agenda to pass a resolution opposing Question 2.This is important because the abruptness of the scheduling and the lack of advance notice to Question 2 supporters in Worcester leaves little room for dissenting voices to be heard. Its an outrageous attempt to circumvent Question 2 supporters, and, if you live in Worcester, your councillor needs to hear from you now! If you dont live in Worcester, please forward this message to any friends or family who do.Please call today your city councillor and the mayor right now and urge them to vote no on the resolution to oppose Question 2.All Worcester city councillors and the mayor can be contacted at
hone: (50
799-1049E-mail:
[email protected]ease remember to be polite and professional in all your exchanges with your elected officials; you do little good by painting the movement for a sensible marijuana policy in a bad light by verbally abusing them. The facts are on our side. So please pick up a phone and call now, and if you dont live in Worcester, please forward this to everyone you know who does -- right now! For your reference, a list of all city councillors is below, and here are some talking points to assist you if the conversation goes beyond simply voting no:- Question 2 creates a civil penalty instead of criminal penalty for personal possession of an ounce or less of marijuana -- a citation with a fine like a speeding ticket. This is far more sensible than our current system.- Marijuana will remain illegal, but Question 2 will end the creation of over 7,500 new lifelong records, known as Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) reports every year.- Question 2 will save Massachusetts taxpayers almost $30 million a year in arrest and booking costs alone. These funds should stay in police and community coffers to fight violent and serious crime.- Question 2 is stricter than current law when dealing with juveniles. People under the age of 18 will have the citation delivered to their parents, so the family is immediately involved. Then in addition to the fine, the young person must complete a drug awareness program and community service. So they are punished immediately, but then can move forward with a productive life.PLEASE CONTACT YOUR MAYOR & CITY COUNCILLOR AND ASK THEM TO VOTE NO ON THE RESOLUTION TO OPPOSE QUESTION 2!If you dont know who your city councilllor is, please refer to the list below.Phone: (50
799-1049E-mail:
[email protected]nstantina B. Lukes, Mayor & At-Large Michael J. Germain, At-Large Joseph M. Petty, At-Large Gary Rosen, At-Large Frederick C. Rushton, At-Large Kathleen M. Toomey, At-Large Joffrey A. Smith, District 1 Philip P. Palmieri, District 2 Paul P. Clancy, Jr, District 3 Barbara G. Haller, District 4 William J. Eddy, District 5Thank you for your support. With your help, we will make history by passing Question 2 this November!
