Referendum: Next Meeting On August 3

by Tony Palmeri

On July 20th a diverse group of more than twenty citizens attended a meeting at the Oshkosh Public Library for the purpose of discussing the placement of a troop withdrawal referendum on the April, 2006 ballot. The meeting was moderated by Bob Poeschl, peace activist and a founding member of the Winnebago Peace and Justice Center. Following precedent set in other cities and counties across the nation, organizers are seeking to have placed an advisory referendum on the April 6, 2006 ballot that would say: "Should the United States begin an immediate withdrawal of its troops from Iraq, beginning with the National Guard and Reserves?"

Oshkosh Common Councilor Bryan Bain attended the meeting. He said that based on a conversation with city attorney Warren Kraft it was his understanding that the placing of an advisory referendum question on the city ballot requires a majority vote of the council, independently of how many signatures collected by citizens. Bain said he was not ready to commit to sponsoring a council resolution to place the referendum question on the ballot. The group greatly appreciated councilor Bain's attendance at the meeting.

Much time was spent discussing the possibility of getting the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors to place the referendum question on the April ballot. Mike Slattery, a citizen from Manitowoc, attended the meeting and said that he is working with a group attempting to get the Manitowoc County Board to place the referendum question on the ballot. No members of the Winnebago County Board attended the July 20th meeting. It was decided that before the next meeting more information needed to be gathered about the process of working through the County Board.

Continuing their pattern of irresponsibility and contempt for citizens' movements, Gannett's Oshkosh Northwestern did not send a reporter to the meeting.

The next meeting will be held on Wednesday, August 3rd at 7 p.m. at a location to be announced.