Tax dollars fund investigators to go after referendum drive

By Taxpayer Association of Oregon

The State of Oregon has hired 10 private investigators at a cost of $135,000 of tax dollars to snoop around the citizen tax referendum petition campaign. Pat McCormick of Oregonians Against Job Killing taxes says these investigators routine questioning and challenging signature gatherers are slowing the petition process down. The investigations are expected to continue all year long in order to meddle in as many other petitions campaigns as possible.

It bears reminding the public that the same legislature that approved money to hire investigators to pry into people gathering petitions are the same politicians who voted to suspend enacting the voter approved Measure 57 which helped keep criminals behind bars. On one hand, the state is letting identity thieves and other criminals out of jail early while dedicating entirely new tax resources into hunting for criminals who do not exist and trying to stop their political opponents.

To be fair, why stop at petition drives utilized by citizens? Why not expand the investigation to include going after politicians who run for office? Show up undercover at campaign events where donations are exchanged. Why not investigate the three lawmakers who recently resigned their office to take sweetheart triple-digit salary state government jobs that they helped fund as an elected official?

In the end, criminals and politicians go free and citizens engaging in a referendum democracy get harassed.

Fight back by signing a petition at Stop Job Killing Taxes.