The latest from the tiny desert town that was the setting for one of my major activist projects of last summer. It was a pleasure to work with Jade Jones, Michael Roth, Richard Abbey, Dana Stadler, Will Ponce, Ed Foster, and more. If I hadn’t moved to Keene, Quartzsite would have been my second choice; there are some amazing activists there! Now, we just need to get them to move here to Keene!
Quartzsite voters turned out in record numbers yesterday to send a message. And that message was “NO” on Proposition 1(444 votes to 149), meaning 75% 0f voters wanted an elected not an appointed mayor. The mayor they chose was Ed Foster.
At odds with the rest of the council before he even took office in 2010, Foster had lost a recall election to Fire Captain Jose Lizarraga in August by a narrow margin. That recall was spearheaded by then Councilman Jerry Lukkasson and his wife Michelle. Lizarraga refused to run again for his expiring mayors seat and Lukkasson resigned from the council for a chance to wield the gavel. Now, the voters of Quartzsite have put Foster back in as the town CEO, and by a respectable margin. (more…)
*DISCLAIMER: Although the following may sound a bit negative, it was written in the context of making a point. I truly love living in Keene and have been very homesick during my current venture to Philadelphia. Philly is fun, but it very much exemplifies the fact that Keene is still a relatively peaceful society. The police state runs rampant down here, and honestly, it’s pretty damn scary. All I want is to live in a peaceful society. That is why I spend so much time taking the peaceful actions in Keene which have been described in detail on this blog; to help ensure that I have a peaceful society to live in.
On Friday, March 9 at 5PM, underwear-clad activists will arrive at the Philadelphia International Airport as part of the Don’t Strip Our Rights tour in an effort to expose the tyrannical invasions of privacy and sexual assault by the Transportation Security Administration. (more…)
