07/15/06 Anti-war Referendums Back On Ballots

The Capital Times
Saturday, July 15, 2006

Staff/news services

Several Wisconsin communities are gearing up for another round of anti-war ballot referendums in the fall.

The town of Springdale in Dane County this week voted to put a resolution to a vote in November reading: "The United States should begin an immediate withdrawal of all military personnel from Iraq."

The move came after activist Tim White spent about two weeks gathering about 1,200 signatures.

While cities and villages can get measures on the ballot by gathering signatures equal to 15 percent of the votes cast in the last governor's race, in towns its up to the town board. White said he gathered the 15 percent to show public support for the measure.

"It wasn't hard," he said. "It was just a matter of finding people home in the country."

He added: "I think it was a mistake to go over there, and I think that's obvious for most Americans at t his point."

Two of the board's three supervisors voted for the measure on Monday, with the third abstaining.

In Racine, activists have gathered enough signatures for their own "Bring Our Troops Home" referendum measure, joining Milwaukee in the November election.

And a group called the Middleton Bring Our Troops Home Coalition and headed by Middleton resident Kurt Kobelt announced this week it has started a petition drive to gather 1,000 signatures by Sept. 5 and present them to the city council Sept. 19 in order to get a referendum on the war on the November ballot.

In Sauk County, however, a proposed November referendum on U.S. withdrawal from Iraq went down Thursday for lack of support.

Supervisor Joel Gaalswyk of rural Spring Green presented the countywide advisory referendum to the county's Executive and Legislative Committee. However, no member of the committee was willing to make a motion to have a vote on the measure, said Kathy Schauf, interim county administrative coordinator.

"They discussed it and ascertained it was not the route they would take," she said.

The proposed wording of the referendum would have been: "Should the United States immediately begin a phased, orderly withdrawal of its troops from Iraq?"

Gaalswyk said he was disappointed by the decision, but will not attempt to place the referendum on the ballot by passing a petition in public. "I had a little support, but not enough," he said.

In April, 24 of 32 Wisconsin municipalities voted yes to bringing troops home.