# The People Have Spoken



## shaug (Mar 28, 2011)

http://results.sos.nd.gov/resultsCTY.as ... 05&map=CTY

Eight ballot measures and M5 went down to defeat the hardest.

Anyone on suicide watch this morning?


----------



## Plainsman (Jul 30, 2003)

> Anyone on suicide watch this morning?


Why, It's just a bump in the road. It did put things in perspective. Baby killers to the left of me and money worshipers to the right of me. I was pessimistic, but I didn't think it would go down this hard. If it's bad times or not will be determined by how the money our legislature set aside is used. Which way things go doesn't make me a poor looser, or even smaller, a poor winner. I am more sad about measure 1.


----------



## shaug (Mar 28, 2011)

Seems you are batting 1000 Plains. Another loss.

The news today in the media:

ND voters reject conservation fund supported by oil tax money - Forum (and all the other Forum papers)
One takeaway: "[Adair] wouldn't rule out bringing a similar measure in the future, saying it will depend on how the Legislature responds."

Voters reject mandated conservation fund - Tribune
Opponents of Measure 5 Pleased with Results - KXMB

My favorite:

Conservationists Spend Over $7.16 Million To Get 20% Of The Vote - Say Anything
At $7.16 million, they spent $138.81 per vote

North Dakotans weren't in the mood to say "yes" to most of the ballot measures tonight. Every single ballot measure lost, by wide margins, except for Measure 2 to ban taxes on real estate transfers.

But perhaps the most devastating of the losses, I'm downright giddy to report, was Measure 5. With nearly 94 percent of precincts reporting, just short of 80 percent of voters said "no" to diverting 5 percent of the state's oil tax revenues to a conservation fund.

That's shocking, given that the supporters of the measure spent at least $7.16 million on petitioning and then campaigning for the measure (counting all measure committee and independent expenditures dating back to their first failed effort to get on the ballot in 2012).

Just to put that into perspective, North Dakota's U.S. House race between Kevin Cramer and George Sinner saw less than $2.5 million in funds raised by the two candidates combined.

To spend that much money, and get only 20 percent of the vote, makes me think there may be some people in the state's conservation groups filling out their resumes.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the pro-Measure 5 groups have bungled this issue so badly that they may well have set back the cause of conservation in the state for at least a decade. What appetite are lawmakers going to have for shoveling money into conservation projects when voters shot down Measure 5 this way? How supportive are agriculture, energy, and business groups going to be of conservation causes after having to fight off this clusterfark of a measure?

Regional Ducks Unlimited boss Steve Adair, who chaired the measure committee behind Measure 5, is trying to sound optimistic saying their expensive campaign elevated the conversation.

"I think people are aware of many of the needs of state parks and habitat and water quality and that we need to have a bigger response to that," he told the Fargo Forum. "We're going to continue advocating. We'll move into the legislative arena now."

Good luck with that, Steve.


----------



## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

One bright spot coming in the future will be in my opinion a win for Cook on the rules regarding non profit landownership, with that said, DU and others will have a chance to impact conservation the way it should be. As I told Gabe money for land purchases in ND will pour into DU as waterfowlers across the Central and Mississippi flyways know where the ducks are born and raised. It has been a cry from many why they have not done more in ND.

But you are right shaug the people did speak. Sent the crafters of measure one home, Al Carlson was not the top vote getter in his district, got beat by a Dem in a very conservative district. That should tell you something, the people rejected the two power grab measures from the Leg as well in 4 and 3 rejecting it soundly.

I was not surprised that 5 failed many whom like the idea simply had a hard time putting it in the Constitution or wanted tax reforms in sales, income and property to be dealt with. Only a handful of zealots where worried about DU buying land because most expect that to be the case when Cook lawsuit is done.

So while it went pretty much as I expected, as the election got closer people started paying attention and looking at the measures for what they where. While I supported 5 it was a real stretch to think that ND voters would amend the Constitution for it. NO is the more likely vote on such things in this state period!


----------



## shaug (Mar 28, 2011)

Ron said,



> Al Carlson was not the top vote getter in his district, got beat by a Dem in a very conservative district.


Al Carlson may have been edged out as top voter getter by Pamela Anderson, but he is still a Representative. (D)Pamela did knock off the podium one (R)Bette Grande. Can't say I was a fan of Al Carlson but Bette will be missed.

http://results.sos.nd.gov/resultsCTY.as ... 0&map=DIST



> One bright spot coming in the future will be in my opinion a win for Cook on the rules regarding non profit landownership, with that said, DU and others will have a chance to impact conservation the way it should be.


Well..... that certainly didn't take you long to begin crusading for the next cause. When that also fails, you can always fall back to beating up non-residents. That is the last success nodakoutdoors had.


----------



## Ron Gilmore (Jan 7, 2003)

Bette was elected to represent the people of District 41 not other districts, she voted how her brothers wanted not how the people from her district wanted. Her last crusade from those in the district engaged did not sit well and many knowing her felt it was the height of hypocrisy the thinks she said and did!

But she lived in her own little bubble and assumed that people where happy with her, guess that was not the case. Our neighborhood as I pointed out to others normally would have yard signs at least one every 4th house or so even when they where not really challenged. Saw very few this year and a lot of Anderson signs, had her stop by the house at least three times and was willing to engage and listen to people. This underscores that Bette lost her position because she was no longer representing those who elected her and was seen accurately as serving other interests!!

Do not remember when either Al or Bette have graced the sidewalks! Arrogance at its finest!


----------

