January 26, 2005

IS KEVIN SHELLEY TRYING TO SABOTAGE
THE SAVE OUR LICENSE INITIATIVE?
Secretary of State Website Gives Out False Information

California’s Secretary of State, Kevin Shelley, already under fire for misuse of federal tax dollars and other allegations of impropriety, finds himself accused of providing misleading and false information to the public in what some say is a blatant attempt to harm the signature gathering process of the Save Our License Initiative.

“It’s quite alarming that Shelley would incorrectly list the due date for Save Our License petitions,” stated Mike Spence, President of the California Republican Assembly which is sponsoring the initiative. “As a result, we’ve had erroneous press reports which are causing confusion among volunteers gathering signatures throughout the state.”

The Secretary of State’s website lists March 4th as the circulation deadline -- the day that petitions are due to be turned in. The correct date is February 22nd according to the official filing schedule originally provided by Shelley’s office.

“If a significant number of individuals turn in their petitions to us too late based on this incorrect information, it could jeopardize our qualification for the ballot,” Spence added.

“Is this retaliation for CRA’s campaign calling on Shelley to resign?” asked Jeff Evans, the political consultant who set up the award-winning ShelleyMustResign.com website for CRA. “The California Republican Assembly was the first organization to call for Shelley’s resignation following the allegations of illegal campaign contributions and misuse of federal tax dollars.”

None of the other initiatives listed as being in circulation have incorrect deadlines posted, noted Evans. “This is very troubling and a further example of why Shelley must resign immediately. We need a fair and competent Secretary of State that can honestly oversee our elections process.”

“We’re looking into our legal options at this point,” said Spence. “The negative impact of this false information could be significant.”

The Save Our License Initiative, which would ban government from providing tax funded benefits like driver’s licenses to illegal aliens, needs approximately 600,000 signatures to qualify for the ballot.

Petitions can be downloaded at www.SaveOurLicense.com