League hosts debate

Two initiatives were debated in front of only about a dozen people Tuesday night at the Pullman League of Women Voters Forum at the Whitman County Library in Colfax.

The first state initiative debated was I-517, an initiative which supporters say protects petition gatherers and opponents say is a poorly written initiative that just repeats what’s already in the law.

Ted Weatherly from Pullman supported this initiative and said that it is designed to protect signature gatherers from bullying and retaliation.

“You need to protect your rights,” he said.

Weatherly said it makes it safer and lets citizens know they have that legal right to gather signatures.

Pullman attorney Rob Rembert opposed I-517.

“As a trial lawyer, I should be in favor of this poorly written initiative,” he said, but he explained while the initiative suggests protection, it’s already in the law.

“The vast majority are already protected,” he said. “Now they want ultra-protection.”

Rembert said the initiative mandates access to private property and makes it a crime to interfere with signature gatherers.

“Such as the owner of Dissmore’s who feels a petitioner is a little excessive, could find themselves arrested,” he said.

Weatherly disagreed

“It doesn’t interfere with businesses,” he said. “All this initiative simply does is clear it up.”

In a rebuttal, Rembert said it’s an issue of property ownership.

“A customer should be able to come to shop without being assaulted by petitioners,” he said.

He said if this initiative passes, petitioners could be allowed to go inside and outside of public buildings.

“I personally don’t want to go to my doctor’s office to get an MRI and get assaulted by a petitioner with something I really don’t care about at that moment,” he said. “I just want my privacy.”

“I don’t know from reading this what a public building is,” he said.

In his closing statement, Weatherly let the audience know he was doing this debate as a courtesy.

“I don’t support a ‘yes’ vote on this initiative,” he said. “I want to explain voting to the people of Washington.”

The most fervent debate was when I-522 was discussed.

If voters pass I-522, foods that have genetically engineered ingredients must be labeled as such.

Ron Cully, Spokane, an avid supporter of I-522, said that people have a right to know what they eat and that it would not affect grocery prices.

Jill Fagan, daughter of Rep. Susan Fagan, opposes I-522 and began her opposition by reading an editorial from the Moscow-Pullman Daily News that is against the initiative. She also emphasized that genetically engineered foods are safe and healthy.

Fagan also emphasized that I-522 will cost consumers money by raising costs of groceries.

Cully shot back that the campaign against the initiative is getting millions of dollars from out-of-state resources.

“It’s a money-driven campaign,” he said. “The truth is about the right to know.”

Fagan retorted that commercials supporting I-522 say that genetically engineered foods aren’t safe and said any labels should be backed up by science.

“It’s bad for all of us,” she said.

She also named local Rep. Mark Schoesler and Rep. Joe Schmick as also being opposed to the initiative.

“GE happens in a lab with scientists who know what they’re doing,” she said. “It’s fear mongering. Genetically engineered food helps us feed people all over the world.”

Cully firmly disagreed.

“They’re saying it’s safe because we haven’t looked at long-term data,” he said.

“522 is about transparency,” he said. “It’s about what to put in your bodies, like orange juice from concentrate or from real oranges.”