The weeks since Cary abandoned its latest annextion attempt have been busy preparing to champion reform at the state level - the only way to permanently Stop Cary Forced Annexation. I will concentrate on what YOU can do to influence the movement of favorable annexation reform bills in the State Legislature.
1. Support the two bills that provide "real" reform - one in the House, one
in the Senate.
Senate Bill 494 introduced by Senator Larry
Shaw
House Bill 645 introduced by Rep's Dollar, Brown Goforth and
Steen and now co-sponsored by Blackwood, Blust, Cleveland, McComas Starnes and
Stewart.
And 2. Attend the May 6th rally (see info below.)
ALERT!Your action is urgently needed this week on Senate Bill 494! The Senate State and Local Government Committee may soon hear this bill--and we need you to contact them this week! We must educate them as to the real issues, and what constitutes real reform!
If one of the Senators on the State and Local Government Committee is your Senator, please contact him or her. In addition, please try to meet with the Senator this week. Personal contact is more important than ever in order to make sure these Senators know that the people support S494.
Even if one of the Senators on the committee is not your Senator, please still call, email, and write this week. Ask Senators to:
- Strongly Support Senate Bill 494
- Sponsor SB 494 and Push the Bill Quickly Through the Committee and the Legislature
3/31 Update- 3/31/09
S494 was moved to the Senate Finance Committee on Monday (Mar 30th) evening. We will now watch the Senate Finance Committee and notify you if S494 shows up for consideration by the committee.
Senator Shaw, the sponsor of the Bill, is counting on all of us to keep up with writing, calling and emailing Senators about S494. We need to encourage Senators to support S494 as cosponsors. Find out who your Senator is if you aren’t sure and ask them as a constituent to support S494. If you can arrange to meet with your Senator either in Raleigh or in your district, this would be the very best thing to do. But keep writing and calling!
The Senate Finance Committee has many members, some are friendly to real reform and some are not, but they need to start hearing from us right away.
We have added an online form to send a message to legislators quickly and easily.
We CAN do this if we commit to taking action and speak up to the legislators! Educate them about S494 and H645 which is out of the Rules Committee and is now in Judiciary II.
Email or Call them this week!
At least say: Support Senate bill 494 for annexation reform.
SB 494
provides citizens a vote, requires county oversight over annexations, and
requires municipalities to provide meaningful services. Bill S494 is THE ONLY
bill that addresses all 3. Include your story of the horrors of our current,
out-dated annexation law if you have time.
SAVE THE DATE!!!
ATTEND the Annual
"No Tweaks" rally May 6. Join with others from across the State to show the
Legislature a Sea of Red for Meaningful Annexation Reform .
May 6th - 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
Downtown
Raleigh, NC
Halifax Mall,
between the Legislative Office, corner of Lane
& McDowell
and the Legislative Building at 16 W. Jones St.
May 6th is the annual rally which coincides with the League's Hall Day -- http://www.nclm.org/townhallday.htm. Last year, over 300 people attended the Rally and many spoke to Legislators. This showing of support for reform is making a difference. This year it is critical to pushing for real meaningful reform.
TALK TO LEGISLATORS - LISTEN TO SPEAKERS - NETWORK WITH REFORM ACTIVISTS - BE HEARD!
Need more background on the bill and recent campaign work at the State
level?
See http://www.stopcary.com/
for a quick summary of where we are today, and for analysis of the many bills being proposed this year.
It is important that you support reform starting this week, as we are entering a critical time for what we all have been fighting for: true reform.
Stay informed, stay involved, and stay tuned,
Erica
Winston
info@StopCary.com
We need your help to convey our opposition to forced annexation to all elected officials and our community. Below are a few steps that you can take today to ensure we will control the future of our neighborhoods and properties.
1. Spread the word. Talk to your neighbors, friends, and co-workers about involuntary annexation. Point them to this website so that they may learn more about our cause.
2. Contact your elected officials. Our elected officials need to learn of the broad opposition in the community to forced annexation. Write or call, and/or meet with each Cary and Wake County official to convey your message. You can find detailed contact information under State Government Contacts or Cary Town Council contacts.
More importantly, contact your friends and co-workers that live in Cary and vote for the Cary Town Council. Ask them to support our opposition to involuntary annexation by contacting Town Council members and asking them to work with communities rather than against them..
3. Attend critical meetings. Representation during meetings and critical votes sends a strong signal to our elected officials, and truly demonstrates broad opposition.
4. Stay informed. Visit our www.stopcary.com site frequently to keep in loop on events, votes, and other decisions. Subscribe to our mailing list so that we may contact you with information, or requests for your attendance at important meetings.
6. Get involved. We need help educating our neighbors, the media, elected officials, and everyone else who is a stakeholders in our effort to abolish forced annexation in North Carolina. You can assist us with communicating our cause, collecting signatures, and networking with "influential people" in our community. Please see the Join Us page on this website on how you can get involved.