Equality California's Marc Solomon announced on a conference call to
press today that the organization has set 2012 as a target date for a
ballot measure challenging Proposition 8. Solomon said the organization
looked at four options – to return every two years; to wait until they
know that they can win; to use November 2010 as a deadline and engage
in and 14 month campaign; or to use 2012 as a deadline and engage in a 38 month campaign.
Said Solomon: "What we found is through our experience both in talking to people over the past few months and over a number of years is that the work is slow-going but doable as we talk to people across the state. Going door to door with the truth is working. And if we do the work at the level we need, we will have the support by 2012. Doing the work in a cultural context and not in an election context is a really effective way to do it. People really hear you."
Also, "2012 simply appears to be, by the numbers, a better year."
Solomon also published a blog post on the plan.
Equality California's Geoff Kors announced that the organization has added 18 field organizers and nine new offices, recruited 16,000 new volunteers, and knocked on over 500,000 doors.
They have raised $390,000 of a $500K goal with the help of 76,000 new donors.
Kors said the group had spoken with leadership of organizations in communities of color to develop a
strategic avenue to succeed in the next election and also analyzed the top 100 donors of the 'No on 8' campaign and determined at what
level they could participate in a new campaign.
The group posted an analyis and plan. Download it here (pdf).
Kors was asked about a possible push from the Courage Campaign and other groups for a ballot measure in 2010. Kors said that if the Courage Campaign was able to obtain the signatures to get a measure on the ballot that early "of course" the group would support it.
More quotes from the call at Rex Wockner's site.
Equality California will be hosting a virtual town hall tomorrow.
Earlier…
10 News San Diego had its money on 2012: "Sources tell 10News the leaders of the group are leaning toward 2012. 'I'm not surprised,' said Mesa College political science professor, Carl Luna.
He said he shares the opinion offered by a team of consultants brought in by 'Equality California.'
2012, they said, would give same-sex marriage supporters more time to outreach to minority communities who supported Prop 8.
They would also gain more time to raise money and have better demographics during a presidential election. 'In 2012, you get younger voters. They tend to be disproportionately in favor of gay marriage, and that could be the difference in a close election of overturning Prop 8,' Luna said."
The SF Chronicle reports: "On Thursday, the 700,000-member liberal online hub Courage Campaign,
whose members advocate a 2010 run, will say whether a $200,000
challenge grant it issued for preliminary campaign work was met. If it
wasn't, then as Courage Campaign founder Rick Jacobs wrote to
supporters, 'We will have to accept that our movement is not ready to
repeal Prop. 8 in 2010.'"
According to the Chronicle, "The secretary of state's office suggests that ballot measures be
submitted to the attorney general's office by Sept. 25 to qualify for
the November 2010 ballot. Organizers need to gather 1 million
signatures to sift out 694,354 valid ones."
