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JACOBS: Grateful for activist volunteers
By PAUL JACOBS - For The Californian | ∞
Today, I find myself still in a state of gratitude. One of the many things I am thankful for is friends who have shown me that citizens play a pivotal role in government.
Jerry and Maxine Ewig retired as schoolteachers from Ohio and moved to Temecula. I met them when they hosted meet-ups for 2004 presidential candidate Howard Dean. When Dean's campaign collapsed, the meet-ups continued and eventually morphed into a group called Citizens for Democracy, www.citizensfordemocracytv.com. The general purpose of the meetings is to learn about issues and encourage an active role and interest in government affairs.
The activism this group has incubated breathes life back into our democracy. Citizens do have the power to demand that government answer to the people. Involvement in government isn't just a right; it is a responsibility. It is amazing what individuals can accomplish with a little help from their friends.
Tom Courbat never intended to spend years of his retirement as the founder of Save R Vote, but when Citizens for Democracy revealed that private voting machine companies are in charge of our elections, Tom started asking questions and hasn't stopped yet. Save R Vote has been a model for election integrity groups across the country.
Public officials have largely forgotten that they are supposed to be working in the public's interest, and politicians almost never admit a mistake. Riverside County supervisors believe themselves to be infallible, like the pope. It is the job of citizens to help our elected representatives come to good decisions and redirect them when they don't.
Ann Weston has also been a longtime Citizen for Democracy. When she learned that the county approved a private paramilitary training facility in Homeland only a few miles from her home, she started researching the documentation and asking questions.
With a little help from friends and acquaintances, Ann has made a lot of people aware of the war camp that is planned for their little area of Southwest County. At a Harvest Valley Community Council meeting, the council president grabbed the microphone away from Ann and one other speaker for questioning the Procinctu project. A private military does not guarantee free speech.
There were similarities between the Procinctu project and a facility Blackwater wanted to build in Potrero. Ann contacted a man named Ray Lutz, who was instrumental in thwarting the Blackwater training camp in Potrero.
At a recent Citizens for Democracy meeting, Lutz spoke of the Citizens Oversight Projects Web site he has organized, www.copswiki.org/twiki/bin/view/Common/WebHome, to assist and encourage citizens to be participants in government.
Not everybody has to become an activist, but more are needed. Thank goodness for people like Tom Courbat, Ann Weston and Ray Lutz, who have the time and tenacity to keep digging, ask questions and demand accountability.
Politicians will start remembering that they work for us when more of us become fixtures at public meetings and play our role in the process.
Paul Jacobs is a regular columnist for The Californian. E-mail him at TemeculaPaul@aol.com.
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Ed wrote on Nov 30, 2008 9:00 AM:Can't agree with you more Mr Jacobs. They are real American heroes.
Truth in advertising wrote on Nov 30, 2008 10:52 AM:The Howard Dean-supporting Ewigs should have named their group "Citizens for Democratic Party", Lutz lost his bid as the Democratic Party candidate for his State Assembly district, Weston doesn't live "only a few miles" from the training site (it's actually about 10, so I guess TemeculaPaul lives "just a few more"), and Courbat has lots of time on his hands thanks to the huge boondoggle of overly-generous retirement benefits for former government employees. Come on, Paul, the Democrats won the election, so you really don't need to pretend your and your pals' agenda is for democracy's sake.
Tom wrote on Nov 30, 2008 12:16 PM:Paul,
Thank you for your very kind comments. Community activists, and particularly Election Integrity (EI) advocates, are frequently not appreciated by Election Officials or the Board of Supervisors to whom they often report. Most prefer that warts not be exposed.
The EI movement concentrates on the PROCESS, never the candidate or the proposition.
We look to validate three important aspects of any electoral process. SECURITY (CHAIN OF CUSTODY), AUDITABILITY, and TRANSPARENCY. These are the three elements that must be present in EVERY election to ensure the announced results can be verified. Requirements for and monitoring of each of these elements is provided for in the law, the CA Election Code and state regulations.
First, is it secure? Meaning, is the chain of custody of the ballots (paper & electronic) air-tight at all points along the way so that ballots cannot be stolen, altered or modified [think of each ballot as a $100 bill and require the same amount of security].
Secondly, we look for auditability. Can the process be FULLY audited so that the announced results can be verified independently?
And third, is the process transparent to the public. By that we mean, does the ROV comply with the law that requires the public to be able to MEANINGFULLY observe and verify every step and aspect of the election process.
Citizens are only now, in the last 4 years, beginning to take on the task holding Election Officials accountable for following the law and meeting the above three requirements. It's happening nationwide and Election Officials have not been overly cooperative in most cases.
But this WILL continue, because it is the duty of citizens to ensure fair elections. It cannot be delegated with the assurance that “someone else” will do it. YOU gotta do it!
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