Ballot Initiative 97, the Seattle Divest from War and Occupation campaign, is a citizen initiative to divest public monies from illegal war and occupation in the Middle East. It is a ground breaking effort giving voters in Seattle a powerful way to say ‘not with our money!’
I-97, if adopted, would require the Seattle Employees’ Retirement System to divest from any company that (1) participates directly in the occupation of Iraq; (2) is profiting from privatization of Iraqi state resources; (3) provides direct material support to the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, Gaza Strip, East Jerusalem, and Golan Heights; and (4) has a direct presence in Israeli settlements in the occupied territories listed above. It would also require divestment from Israeli government bonds if Israel carries out a military attack on Iran without UN authorization.
Cindy Sheehan and Other Local/National Antiwar Leaders Endorse I-97
June 17, 2008
During her recent visit to Seattle, Cindy Sheehan became the latest antiwar leader to endorse Seattle ballot initiative 97. Sheehan first grabbed headlines in 2005 by camping outside George W. Bush’s Crawford, Texas ranch after her son Casey was killed in Iraq.
For the full text of the press release, click here
Legal Victory for I-97 Campaign
May 15, 2008
Certain organizations that do not want Seattle voters to have a say in how city retirement funds are invested have presented a legal challenge against ballot initiative 97.
In a ruling today, Washington Superior Court judge Steven Gonzalez refused to accept the biased language that the plaintiffs wished to insert into the petition form in place of the original language drafted by the Seattle City Attorney's office. Judge Gonzalez did draft his own language, which means that we need to create a new petition form and print new copies.
While this represents a minor inconvenience for the campaign, and it is unfortunate that thousands of sheets of paper will be put in the recycle bin as a result of this lawsuit, we are proud that we have defended the right of Seattle voters to decide, through the ballot initiative process, where their city can invest its funds.
Judge Gonzalez also ruled that signatures gathered on the old forms through May 15, 2008 will be counted towards the 17,968 signatures needed to get I-97 on the ballot. In doing so, he essentially refuted the plaintiffs' allegation that the language drafted by the Seattle City Attorney's office was misleading.
Starting on May 16, all Signatures Must be Collected on New Petition Form
A new official petition form has been uploaded to this web site, for anyone to download, print, and collect signatures with.
To get the ballot form and instructions, click here
