Common Sense Prevails!
- "NO" VOTE WINS!! YES: 1,861 (45%) NO: 2,275 (55%) Total: 4,136 (100%)
Not only was it a solid victory, but it was, I've been told, the highest off-year voter turnout in Berkley's history (over 36%; I believe the previous off-year record was 34%). If I'm wrong about this, I'm sure that someone will correct me.
WHO WON:
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The Vote NO group (Berkley's Citizens for Religious Freedom), who won a solid victory despite our opponents being backed by well-funded outside organizations with political agendas.
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Berkley Christians, who get to continue to appreciate one of their most sacred religious symbols without it being cluttered up with candy canes and Frosty the Snowman.
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Berkley Non-Christians, who can now pay their water bill or request a building permit at City Hall without having to have someone else's religion thrust upon them
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Good Taste and Aesthetics, since the creche will now be in a display area which is large enough to accompany it, highly visible from a well-trafficked part of the downtown area, not blocked by a large gazebo, and not surrounded by day-glo reindeer and neon choo-choo trains.
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The Berkley Clergy Association, who suggested the sensible compromise solution in the first place.
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The Mayor and City Council, who had the wise decision they made last year (with one exception) clearly vindicated.
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The Homeowners of Berkley, who ensured that the 20% or so of potential homebuyers who don't happen to be Christian will feel welcome and included in our small city, thus helping shore up property values.
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The Taxpayers of Berkley, who dodged a potentially devastating financial bullet by guaranteeing avoidance of any lawsuits or other legal challenges to the city on this issue.
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The City of Berkley as a whole, which finally stopped what was becoming a tremendous amount of embarrassingly negative national publicity.
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Religious Freedom, Equal Treatment, and yes, Separation of Church and State, concepts which have been such a vital part of America's history.
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Finally, a document called the Constitution of the United States of America.
CITIZENS FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOM WOULD LIKE TO THANK...
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The Steering Committee members, who worked tirelessly for the past 3 months or so to defeat the proposal
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C4RF chair John DuLong, who first brought the proposal to the attention of many core members of the C4RF/Vote NO group.
- Former Mayor Jerold Durst, who showed tremendous strength of character and integrity in his carefully thought-out decision to reverse his stance on the issue.
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The Mayor, 5 Berkley City Councilmembers, and the Clergy Association, all of whom stuck their necks out and then stuck by their decision to do the right thing in spite of tremendous pressure from numerous forces opposing doing so.
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The 70+ Berkley residents who were willing to list your names publicly on our website.
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The 100+ supporters who have tolerated having your email in-boxes flooded over the past month or two.
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The 117 individuals who donated money to our cause.
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The 2,275 residents of Berkley who braved the cold, wet and dreary weather to vote against the proposal (well, ok, several hundred of you wisely voted absentee and thus avoided the bad weather, but thanks to you as well!)
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Amici's Pizza, which donated a ton of free pizza and the use of their facilities for our fundraiser, which raised almost half of our total donations in a single evening.
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Casey Sign Company, which donated the 6 large "Vote NO" banners which helped enhance our message in the crucial final days of the campaign.
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Our families and friends, who "donated" many of us to this cause for many hours & days for the past few months.
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And Finally, our opponents on the "Yes" side, who put up a hard-fought, spirited campaign, and without whom some of us would never have made so many of the new friends we've made over the past few months.
More to come soon as we decide Where to Go from Here...
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