Denny Jackman: All of Measure I wasn’t on ballot; that was illegal
As a former Modesto City Council member and lifetime resident, it saddens me that a strong possibility of intentional ballot tampering has occurred. Of the four initiatives on the Nov. 3 ballot, only Measure I did not include the full text of the ordinance, as required by law! Was this omission a simple oversight or an intentional oversight by the elections office, that certifies true, accurate and complete ballots? Or oversight by city staff, who openly participated in demeaning a qualified ballot initiative over a small map provided for their convenience and not required by law? Or, oversight by multiple levels of city upper management, who routinely exchanged emails with opponents to discredit the heritage of Wood Colony’s residents?
Though I was born in a much less sophisticated Modesto, I wasn’t born yesterday. So, if intentionally omitted, by who? Who would benefit from such a dirty trick?
No, no sense to speculate. It is now in the hands of the California Secretary of State, and needs an investigation by the district attorney.
Proponents spent years and qualified nearly 10,000 signatures to put it on the ballot. We have done our job to openly and fairly petition our government. Now our local government should come clean!
Denny Jackman, Modesto
This story was originally published November 16, 2015 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Denny Jackman: All of Measure I wasn’t on ballot; that was illegal."