So their lobbyists went to work and won passage last spring of a law that would allow voters to revoke their signatures on ballot initiatives within 150 days of their decision to sign.
Development lawyers then persuaded the Division of Elections to make the new law retroactive, so signatures given 150 days before it officially took effect could be revoked.
Ion Sancho, the outspoken Leon County elections supervisor, said the changes create "all kinds of problems" for supervisors, who now are required not only to validate signatures as they come but also to keep track of subsequent revocations.
"This really is inappropriate to use the election laws and procedures and change them for one side to get a political advantage," Sancho said.
Associated Industries' revocation push didn't make the difference in keeping Hometown off the ballot.
But it did drop Hometown below the required minimum number of signatures in one Broward County congressional district that it previously had secured. The law requires a minimum number in 13 of the state's congressional districts; Hometown wound up four short.
"It's the way of the future," Associated Industries president Barney Bishop said. "What we did in these last 4 1/2 months is the first time anywhere in the country where there's been an organized effort to get people to revoke their signatures."
Blackner said organizers would now push to qualify for the 2010 ballot. But because the requirements for signature-gathering are based on turnout in the previous presidential election, Hometown will likely need a lot more signatures.
"Democracy requires a sense of fair play, and they play gutter politics," Blackner said. "I think we can get enough signatures to overcome them."
Aaron Deslatte can be reached at adeslatte@orlandosentinel.com or 850-222-5564.
Development lawyers then persuaded the Division of Elections to make the new law retroactive, so signatures given 150 days before it officially took effect could be revoked.
Ion Sancho, the outspoken Leon County elections supervisor, said the changes create "all kinds of problems" for supervisors, who now are required not only to validate signatures as they come but also to keep track of subsequent revocations.
"This really is inappropriate to use the election laws and procedures and change them for one side to get a political advantage," Sancho said.
But it did drop Hometown below the required minimum number of signatures in one Broward County congressional district that it previously had secured. The law requires a minimum number in 13 of the state's congressional districts; Hometown wound up four short.
"It's the way of the future," Associated Industries president Barney Bishop said. "What we did in these last 4 1/2 months is the first time anywhere in the country where there's been an organized effort to get people to revoke their signatures."
Blackner said organizers would now push to qualify for the 2010 ballot. But because the requirements for signature-gathering are based on turnout in the previous presidential election, Hometown will likely need a lot more signatures.
"Democracy requires a sense of fair play, and they play gutter politics," Blackner said. "I think we can get enough signatures to overcome them."
Aaron Deslatte can be reached at adeslatte@orlandosentinel.com or 850-222-5564.
Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel
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