This is my 21st report to constituents. It is the most important. It addresses your right to vote. I have given many pointers on problems with county government, and some on special districts and other governments. Today’s punch line is what YOU can now do about it.Most people are shocked to hear that they lack the right to petition their county, school district, or special district – 90 percent of Colorado governments are immune from citizen petitions.Unhappy with growth? Worried about water? Wasteful spending? Roads? Dust? Trash? Taxes? Your recourse is usually just recycling politicians, since you can’t change policy.A few examples: The Falcon Fire District held a special election May 2, wanting a low turnout. They also didn’t want the county clerk to run the election and count the votes. When I objected and defeated their tax swindle, the FFD president filed bogus criminal charges against me, which the state instantly rejected. FFD wanted to double their property taxes and retaliated against my opposition. They are back again this fall with nearly the same money grab, having failed to silence me.Pikes Peak Library District charges all my constituents the same property tax, but has no library east of Powers Boulevard (i.e. half the county gets taxation without representation).The five-member Peyton Fire District board had only two members when it put a tripling on its property taxes on the fall ballot, an act of dubious legality. Many volunteers have left; the district is chaotic and disintegrating rapidly; is tripling property taxes the answer? Hardly.Falcon School District 49 gave a $290,000 payoff to its fired one-year superintendent. Union dues were recently embezzled. Board members squabble over using the word “Christmas.”District 11 topped that. It has a $200,000 recall election over a $400,000 giveaway to its fired one-year superintendent.El Paso County zoned rural property without owner consent. It wastes many millions yearly and has begun its campaign for a 15 to 30 percent property tax increase ballot issue next year. They crammed jail and courthouse debt down their throats; we now pay $8 million yearly for illegal debt. Look at my back report for dozens of examples of other outrageous spending.Last year, Colorado Springs sued 28,433 people for petitioning the government. The council refused to let us vote on those two valid petitions until I obtained four court orders from four judges. Now they are spending public funds to tell people to vote “no,” which is also illegal.The city overpaid millions of dollars for land. They gave one company a $100,000 bribe to stay in town. They pass millions in subsidies, kickbacks and tax breaks to special interests. They hocked City Hall to a dummy corporation they control, so they could redecorate their council offices. They owe tens of millions in debts never voter-approved. They have $116 million in “unrestricted funds,” yet plead poverty. City spending zoomed 160 percent in the past 15 years, yet they are imposing a yearly $20 million rain tax, again without voter approval, to make up for their intentional 20-year neglect of drainage infrastructure. They kept $14 million in streetlight taxes. Their last ballot issue? To ask us to double and triple their pay!Don’t get me started on state policies. Ask Marsha Looper about the Super Slab project. She tried to reform eminent domain (property seizure) laws, but failed, because the petition process is so agonizingly hard. Before you disagree, first try getting 110,000 signatures.All governments need discipline, not immunity from voter accountability. Petitions provide checks and balances. You need to get involved. Here’s how.If you live in the city, visit www.CityReforms.com. Learn about the two petitions the city wouldn’t let you vote on in 2005 – issues 200 and 201. They are short and self-explanatory. The tax relief is under 5 percent of city revenue over the next six years. Tax savings total less than new storm water tax increases. The city also gets to keep the $14 million it stole in its streetlight tax. The tax relief is even delayed unless the city budget first grows by inflation.The debt limit only applies to future debt, and requires the city to set aside 3 percent of its yearly spending for future capital improvements. Think of all the interest payments we’ll save!All state voters should learn about Amendment 38, the Petition Rights Amendment. See www.PRA2006.com. In one page, No. 38 simplifies 49 pages of state petition law. It allows petitions to all local governments. It stops governments from using our tax dollars to campaign against petitions. It guarantees we get to vote on valid petitions. It limits ballot titles to 75 words, to make them readable. It prevents court delays like the one used to kill the illegal immigration petition. It keeps your petition signature from being rejected on petty technicalities like omitting your middle initial. It holds elections in November only.Remember, no petition by itself ever changed anything; it only gives us the right to vote. The rest is up to you. Get involved. Volunteer to help the campaign of your choice.One local publisher objects to my mentioning ballot issues. She thinks they are unrelated to county government. I’m sure you disagree. My job as a county commissioner is not only to blow the whistle on government policies, but to show you how to correct them. It’s not just a job, it’s a moral duty, because God wants us to be free.*************Contact me at (719) 520-6412, by e-mail at DouglasBruce@elpasoco.com, or by writing me at 27 E. Vermijo Ave. Colo. Spgs. CO 80903. Audiotapes of all BOCC meetings, both simulcast and in archives, are available at www.elpasoco.com. Back issues of my monthly reports are at my website, www.DouglasBruce.com. 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