Referendum on Iraq war would spark debate

Wisconsin opponents of the war in Iraq are mobilizing to try to get an advisory referendum on the April ballot to give citizens a chance to send a message to Washington.

Milwaukee, Madison, Oshkosh and La Crosse are among the communities which have have launched referendum campaigns.

This effort follows the successful example of anti-war activists in Vermont , where 50 towns and cities voted for resolutions calling for withdrawal of US troops from Iraq .

In Milwaukee , the Milwaukee Coalition for a Just Peace, a coalition of 18 organizations, has proposed a Milwaukee city referendum to read:

"Should the United States end the occupation of Iraq and immediately begin withdrawing our troops, starting with our National Guard and Reserves?"

They could have opted for a milder version and perhaps enlisted broader support. "Immediately" may make it a harder sell. But getting it on the ballot would spark some real debate about the war at the local level, which has been lacking so far. We've seen nothing like the campus teach-ins or the hearings held in Madison by Rep. Bob Kastenmeier during the Vietnam war, which did a lot to educate the public about the issues.

There are two ways to place a voter referendum on the ballot. One is to get your local governing body -- city council, county board, village board -- to put it on the ballot. The other is by petition, which requires signatures equal to 15% of the total vote for governor in the last election.

That's a daunting task, since the signatures must be acquired in a 60-day window. In the City of Milwaukee that number is 21,100.

Milwaukee organizers are pursuing both routes simultaneously, working to get the Common Council to pass resolutionon, while beginning to collect signatures. The petition drive started Oct. 1 and will end Nov. 29.

The instructions and the Milwaukee petition are available at these links. You will need Adobe Reader to view these documents. Only city residents can sign it, but circulators need not live in the city.

Those in other communities interested in conducting a local campaign can contact Green Party rep Jeff Peterson, 715-472-2728 or peterson@lakeland.ws or check the Peace Action Wisconsin website.

In 1982, Wisconsin became the first state in the nation to pass a statewide nuclear weapons freeze referendum. Could it take the lead on Iraq? The question is not whether the public is against the war -- the answer clearly is yes -- but whether there are enough activists to get the job done. Despite the large Sept. 24 march in Washington, there is not much evidence yet of a real grassroots network of antiwar activists. I hope I'm wrong.