As part of an effort to generate public dialogue about Proposition 2 in Blaine County, a locally based group, Citizens for Smart Government, will host a speaker at the Liberty Theatre in Hailey on Sept. 28.
The talk, called "Prop 2—Is it Good for Blaine County?" will kick off at 7 p.m. and feature Leonard Gilroy, a senior policy analyst with the Reason Foundation.
Make no bones about it. Citizens for Smart Government and Gilroy are pro-Proposition 2. But the free event is designed as a non-partisan affair.
According to a news release, Gilroy is the managing editor of the world's most respected newsletter on privatization, Privatization Watch, and is the editor of the widely read Annual Privatization Report, which examines trends and chronicles the experiences of local, state and federal governments in bringing competition to public services.
Gilroy recently wrote a report about Oregon's Measure 37, which accomplished similar objectives to what Proposition 2 would do in Idaho.
"Oregon taxpayers have had enough of bad zoning laws and unnecessary land restrictions," said Gilroy. "The state is hailed as the nation's urban planning model, but its planning and zoning regulations have taken a massive, negative toll on individual property owners.
"Oregon would owe landowners $5.4 billion a year to compensate them for the regulatory impacts of the state's misguided planning laws. That isn't fair. And it isn't the American way. Oregon's Measure 37 offers a great template for other states looking to implement meaningful reforms and it provides a check on government power by ensuring that state and local governments adequately weigh the costs and benefits of public action."
The mission of Citizens for Smart Government is to "support vital legislation and ordinances based upon fact-based discussion and rational decisions, while also holding elected and appointed officials accountable to the public they serve by demanding due process and transparency at all times.
"We support candidates who have demonstrated the ability to analyze and understand both the stated and the unintended consequences associated with social engineering and its impact on established property rights."
The group is openly advocating passage of Proposition 2 and election of Dale Ewersen to the Blaine County Commission.
Citizens for Smart Government is in no way affiliated with Hailey-based Citizens for Smart Growth, which has tried to distance itself from the pro-Proposition 2 group.
