The Center for Public Integrity

Before it emerged this year as a major financial backer of ballot initiatives on issues ranging from land use to end-of-life decisions, America At Its Best barely registered on the political landscape.

In 2004, the Americans for Limited Government Foundation, a charitable organization in Illinois that says it “is committed to promoting individual liberty, free markets, and the principles of the U.S. Constitution,” received two donations totaling $650,000.

Californians Against the Taxpayer Trap, the chief opponent of California’s Proposition 90, has released two new 15-second television ads.

“No on 90” Television Ad 3: “Mousetrap”

The Illinois Secretary of State’s Office is investigating whether five organizations connected to New York political activist Howard Rich have been “illegally conducting business within the state of Illinois,” an attorney with the office said today.

Americans for Limited Government, Inc., the driving force behind this year’s eminent-domain and regulatory-takings ballot initiatives in the West, calls itself a grass-roots organization.

Exactly two months ago, on August 31, the Center for Public Integrity made the first in a series of unsuccessful attempts to communicate with Howard Rich, a libertarian political activist who lives and works in New York City.

The chief proponent of Proposition 207, Arizona’s Home Owners Protection Effort, has released its third television ad in favor of the measure.

Like two previous pro-207 spots, it highlights the specter of eminent-domain abuse and glosses over provisions of the ballot initiative that would compel state and local governments to pay property owners for environmental and land-use regulations (including zoning rules) that could reduce the value of their holdings.

A small-print disclaimer at the end of the ad, as with the earlier ones, lists major out-of-state funding from the Fund for Democracy, which shares political activist Howard Rich’s address in New York and describes itself as “a revocable trust dedicated to assisting citizens assert their constitutional rights,” and Americans for Limited Government, a tax-exempt organization in Chicago that Rich chairs.

“Yes on 207” Television Ad 3

I’m Debbie Richards of Queen Creek. If you told me I’d be in a TV ad, I’d say, “You’re nuts.” I’m here because some bureaucrats want to take away this house — my home. Some developer will get it and I can’t stop them. You’re thinking: Can they do that? Yes, they can. But Prop 207 will change that, to protect your home. And 207 will make them compensate you when they hurt the value of your property. Prop 207 could save my home — and it might save yours.

The chief opponent of Proposition 2, Neighbors Protecting Idaho, has produced its second television ad.

The spot features Idaho Governor Jim Risch, a Republican, and Democrat Cecil Andrus, a former Idaho governor and U.S. Secretary of the Interior, both of whom oppose Proposition 2.

“No on 2” Television Ad 2: “Not for Us”
A narrator speaks as images of Risch and Andrus are shown and their comments are displayed.

Have you heard about Propositions 2’s costs?

Governor Jim Risch says, “It’s not really about eminent domain and could cost Idaho taxpayers millions.”

Former Governor Cecil Andrus says, “Prop 2’s wealthy New York backers don’t need to be telling us how to manage our land.”

Join farmers, ranchers, the League of Women Voters, and chambers of commerce across Idaho in opposing Proposition 2. It’s not for us, and it’s costly for Idaho. Vote “no” on 2.

In a unanimous ruling issued on October 26, the Montana Supreme Court rejected an appeal by proponents of Initiative 154 that sought to put it and two other initiatives back on the ballot.

I-154 aimed to restrict the use of eminent domain and compel governments to pay property owners for environmental and land-use regulations (including zoning rules) that could reduce the value of their holdings.

The court’s ruling upheld the September 13 order of District Judge Dirk M. Sandefur to remove the three initiatives from the November ballot. 
The supreme court ruled that Sandefur “did not err when [he] invalidated the signatures of proponents’ out-of-state signature-gatherers that were obtained in a manner that did not comply with Montana statutes and were tainted by or associated with deceptive practices and misrepresentation.”

All three ballot initiatives were pushed and financed by Montanans in Action, which has been financed by tax-exempt organizations and other entities operated by Howard Rich, a political activist from New York City.

Because ballots have already been designed, the court ordered that county administrators not count the votes for the three initiatives “to the extent that this is technically feasible” and that, “if the votes must be counted, they will have no force or effect.”

Protect Our Homes Montana, the official proponent of the initiative, spent at least $315,000 in support of I-154. More than $285,000 of that amount came from Montanans in Action.

Read the Montana Supreme Court ruling.

The Property Fairness Coalition, the chief backer of Washington’s Initiative 933, has released two more radio ads, both featuring World War II veteran Buck Compton. One ad is for statewide use and the other for use in Skagit County, where proponents of the measure have argued that a ballot printing error has omitted a full description of the proposed initiative (which is required by law).