Agricultural News
Republican and Democratic Women in Cherokee County Agree- They Oppose State Question 777
Tue, 27 Sep 2016 05:43:27 CDT
Leaders of two Cherokee County political organizations met this past week to sign a joint resolution opposing State Question 777, which will appear on the November general ballot in Oklahoma.
JoAnn Bradley, president of Cherokee County Republican Women, and DeeDee Hensley, president of the Cherokee County Federation of Democratic Women, recently helped organize group discussions among their respective party members about state questions on the November ballot.
Bradley said a presentation to the Republican Women's group by board members of Save the Illinois River, Inc., last spring convinced her organization of the potential consequences if the measure passes in November.
When Hensley first learned that a 2015 legislative referendum had placed the state question on this year's ballot, she heard people say it posed little danger of becoming law. But she recognized that a grassroots effort is necessary to insure that it does not.
Bradley, who has been involved in local politics since she was elected Tahlequah city clerk in the 1980s, said this is the first time she has seen the two leading women's political groups or the county chapters of the Republicans and Democrats, for that matter formally unite on a particular issue that would go before the voters.
If approved in November, State Question 777, the so-called "Right to Farm" amendment, would prohibit the Oklahoma legislature from passing laws that restrict or regulate agriculture. While proponents believe the agriculture industry should have more protection than it already does, opponents are concerned that unregulated agricultural interests could have devastating impact on water quality, property rights, and animal welfare statewide. In northeast Oklahoma, opponents foresee deterioration of water quality in the Illinois River, which provides drinking water to the city of Tahlequah and rural water districts.
The measure would prevent future legislatures from passing laws to restrict agricultural practices, regardless of their impact on the environment.
Opponents are also concerned about the amount of land in Oklahoma being purchased by foreign corporations that have no stake in protecting the state's resources.
Drew Edmondson, former Oklahoma attorney general and a leader in opposing SQ 777, told a Tahlequah gathering recently, "The biggest threat to the family farm today is huge farming operations. They're going to put the family farmer out of business."
Source- Save the Illinois River Organization
If you want to learn more about State Question 777, we have several resources that you can go and investigate. To begin with, we would suggest you go and read the actual State Question from the official State of Oklahoma website- click here for the ballot language for 777. The State Legislature passed underlying legislation in spring of 2015 to send the Right to Farm amendment to a vote of the people by votes of 90 to 6 in the State House and 39 to 6 in the State Senate. After the vote, Radio Oklahoma Ag Network Farm Director Ron Hays sat down with one of the lead authors of the underlying bill, State Representative Scott Biggs, to discuss the measure- click here to review that story and their conversation.
There is one PAC that is registered with the State of Oklahoma that is raising money with the intent of supporting the State Question- Oklahoma Farmers Care. Click here for their website. There are two PACs registered with the State of Oklahoma opposed to the State Question, Click on their names to jump to their respective websites- the Oklahoma Stewardship Council and Oklahomans for Food, Farm and Families. After the Stewardship Council was formed, Hays talked with former Attorney General Drew Edmondson about the efforts to organize a "NO" vote on the measure- click here for that story from November of 2015.
A resource that has just been released is from Oklahoma State University- Dr. Shannon Ferrell and Dr. Larry Sanders have written a Fact Sheet on State Question 777- click here to go and read their analysis.
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