Wilfore also warned that Arno Political Consultants has a reputation for misleading voters.
Torres told the press conference that after a concerted information campaign by the Democratic Party, labor and others, public support for the measure now stands at just 22 percent.
The first campaign collapsed in late September, when its leaders abruptly resigned after controversy erupted over efforts to conceal the identity of a mystery donor. The donor was then revealed to be billionaire hedge fund executive Paul Singer, a policy adviser and major fundraiser for Giuliani.
The new effort has inherited over 100,000 signatures gathered during the earlier campaign. Almost 434,000 signatures are required to get an initiative on the California ballot, and campaigns generally aim for about 700,000 to ensure that enough are valid.
Supporters are aiming for the June primary, when turnout is expected to be low. But they also claim that even if the measure is delayed until November, it could still affect the 2008 presidential election because the Electoral College does not meet until December.
Some observers have noted that the new signature-gathering effort lagged after the first few days, and speculate that the campaign may be short of funds. But other reports indicate that wealthy San Diego-area Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, a major funder of the state’s 2003 recall election, has now joined the campaign.
Marilyn Bechtel writes for the People's Weekly World/Nuestro Mundo newspaper www.pww.org.
Torres told the press conference that after a concerted information campaign by the Democratic Party, labor and others, public support for the measure now stands at just 22 percent.
The first campaign collapsed in late September, when its leaders abruptly resigned after controversy erupted over efforts to conceal the identity of a mystery donor. The donor was then revealed to be billionaire hedge fund executive Paul Singer, a policy adviser and major fundraiser for Giuliani.
The new effort has inherited over 100,000 signatures gathered during the earlier campaign. Almost 434,000 signatures are required to get an initiative on the California ballot, and campaigns generally aim for about 700,000 to ensure that enough are valid.
Some observers have noted that the new signature-gathering effort lagged after the first few days, and speculate that the campaign may be short of funds. But other reports indicate that wealthy San Diego-area Republican Congressman Darrell Issa, a major funder of the state’s 2003 recall election, has now joined the campaign.
Marilyn Bechtel writes for the People's Weekly World/Nuestro Mundo newspaper www.pww.org.
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