|
Lake Ridge, Virginia:
Today, Citizens in Charge Foundation, a transpartisan national voter rights group focused on the ballot initiative and referendum process, presented Auburn, New York citizen David Schlegel with the September 2009 John Lilburne Award. Mr. Schlegel is being recognized for standing up for the rights of citizens and actively pressuring his state representatives to enact a statewide process of initiative and referendum.
“Thank goodness for David Schlegel,” said Paul Jacob, President of Citizens in Charge Foundation. “Schlegel and others like him all across America are working to re-connect government with the people by bringing initiative and referendum rights to their state.”
Earlier this year, David Schlegel wrote to his state representative and state senator asking for their positions on initiative and referendum. Neither legislator even bothered to respond. But that didn’t stop Schlegel, who brought his message to a wider New York audience by publishing opinion pieces in a local media outlet, calling out his so-called representatives and urging his fellow citizens to engage their representatives and press for initiative and referendum rights.
“That Mr. Schlegel’s representatives have refused to even respond simply dramatizes the sad state of our politics,” Jacob said. “But serious reformers like Schlegel won’t stop until New York citizens are back in charge of their government.”
The Lilburne Award specifically recognizes David Schlegel for his active pursuit of initiative and referendum rights and his commitment to spreading the message to other citizens.
Each month, Citizens in Charge Foundation presents the John Lilburne Award to a citizen, or citizens, working to protect and defend the First Amendment petition rights of Americans. John Lilburne was a 17th Century English pamphleteer, political activist, and champion of individual rights who advocated constitutional government and pioneered the use of petitioning and referenda for redress against government power and abuse.
| 
