The Let Lubbock Vote Political Action Committee announced Tuesday the first week of its two petition drives to expand alcohol sales in Lubbock County have been a success.
The Let Lubbock Vote PAC announced in a news release that registered voters in Lubbock County still can sign "The legal sale of all alcoholic beverages for off-premise consumption only" petition and "The legal sale of mixed beverages in restaurants by food and beverage certificate holders only" petition.
Although Texas Petition Strategies - a consulting firm hired by the PAC to run the petition efforts - and Let Lubbock Vote do not have an accurate estimate of how many confirmed signatures they have obtained thus far because they must go through a validation process, the turnout to sign the petitions has been better than anticipated, according to a Monday news release from Let Lubbock Vote.
John Hatch, a representative of the consulting firm, said TPS will release the numbers for the first week of the petition drive on Wednesday or Thursday.
TPS petition officials employed by the firm to distribute copies of the petition can be recognized by their bright yellow shirts and currently are stationed on a daily basis at four Lubbock Wal-Marts, area 7-11s, Sam's Club, Fast Stops across the county, the Chisum Travel Center and the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce office, according to the news release.
For the county's petitions to pass, a minimum of 18,747 registered voters in Lubbock County will need to sign each petition before each of them can become propositions on a May 2009 ballot.
Let Lubbock Vote advocates that alcohol sales issues should come to a vote but it does not favor or oppose the sale of alcohol, according to a previous issue of The Daily Toreador.
The key opponent to the petitions is Larry Jones, director of missions with the Lubbock Area Baptist Association.
Jones said he and 18 other citizens of Lubbock County have formed an opposing PAC called "Truth About Alcohol Sales," which discourages voters from signing the petitions and asks them to vote against the propositions in the event enough signatures are obtained to become propositions on next year's ballots.
"We're getting organized," he said Monday. "We now have a private location. We have opened a bank account with $1,300 in it, and two members have pledged $7,500 for our first advertisements."
Jones has said in previous DT articles that he believes increased alcohol sales have led to an increase in alcohol abuse, so Lubbock County taxpayers will be forced to pay higher taxes to compensate for alcohol-related accidents and crime.
Jones said his PAC is concerned that voters' rights are being violated by petition officials who seek people willing to sign the petition.
"They're saying that they're getting a great response from the voters," he said, "but many people that I've talked to who don't want to sign the petition feel harassed and pressured to do so."
Petition officials at Wal-Mart locations greet customers entering and exiting the building.
Hatch said petition officials are required to explain the purpose of the petitions when they approach shoppers.
But some patrons visiting the Wal-Mart on 4th Street and Avenue Q Tuesday afternoon had mixed reviews of the petition officials, who declined comment on the grounds that they are not allowed to talk to the media.
"I filled out the petition Saturday here," said Marli Street, a freshman public relations major from Pampa. "I actually did feel pressured to do so. The man was very (insistent) about me filling out the paper. He kept saying he was going to make it as simple as possible for me to fill it out. I just felt a little taken aback by how pressured I felt."
Street said it was also somewhat unclear about what she was signing.
"He told me what the petition was about but he didn't explain all the details," she said.
Lubbock resident Durral Evans said he did not like how petition officials approached Wal-Mart customers.
"Instead of sitting down, they're walking all over the place," he said. "I think they should have a sign on the table stating what they are here for. They should stay at their table and not ambush people as they come in. It turns people off."
Hatch said he would investigate Wal-Mart's patrons' complaints upon being informed further about them.
Georgia Shelton, a New Deal resident, said she favored stationing petition officials at convenient locations like Wal-Mart.
"They just asked me if I would like to sign," she said. "I just said 'No, I already signed it'. It's convenient because some people can't make it to certain specific spots if they want to sign it."
Most patrons at the Wal-Mart near Loop 289 and Quaker Avenue spoke positively about petition officials.
Lubbock resident Pat Bryant said she did not know how people could be intimidated or pressured by petition officials.
Let Lubbock Vote will continue their petition efforts until the end of November.
Be the first to comment on this article!