Story and photo by Doug Petrowski
Now that ballots for the April 23 election are in the homes of Mountlake Terrace voters, volunteers from the YES for MLT committee are spending a few evenings making phone calls on behalf of Proposition 1, the $25 million municipal bond measure that, if approved, would fund the construction of a new civic campus for the city.
“At this point we’re just calling people, asking if they have their ballots and if they have any questions,” said YES for MLT spokesperson Melanie Granfors. “It’s a get-out-the-vote effort; we hope they vote ‘yes,’” she added.
Volunteers are putting in some time on Tuesday and Thursdays evenings in the two weeks before the April 23 ballot return deadline calling voters. One final phone bank effort is also scheduled for Monday, Apr. 22.
The group made about 400 calls the first night on April 9. The April 11 calls were to be made to names of voters who had voted in all four of the previous county elections, Granfors said.
The YES for MLT committee has raised $6,951.25 in their effort to support Proposition 1 according to the latest figures from the state Public Disclosure Commission. The group has spent $2,983.65 in the campaign.
While the No on Prop. 1 committee has filed with the state, they have not reported any income or expenditures with the Public Disclosure Commission as of April 11.
Mr. Petrowski, While we are not required to report our income or expenditures unless we make over a certain amount, I am curious if you can identify the person responsible for the “Senior Say Yes” or the “Vote NO on Prop 1” signs. No one person is allowed to spend over $100.00 without either being part of a campaign or registering with the PDC. The “YES” campaign has claimed not to be involved with those signs on their fb page. If that is true and by what their reporting shows somebody is not following the rules. Have you taken the time out of your day to check into that? It would be a great follow-up story to this one.
Thanks for covering this, Doug. Our volunteers have been working very hard trying to get out the vote.
We don’t have access for free to a large facility like the Nile Country Club from which to do our work. We’re not well connected or well heeled like they are, but our volunteers are working hard as well. Its just that we are doing it on a shoestring with door-to-door shoe leather.
Keep up the good work, Yes For Progress volunteers!