[I think it is a sign of party growth to see public reasonable debates on issues that Greens disagree on. -RS]
[From GREEN PARTY WATCH by Walter]
This is interesting. Maine Green Party Independent leaders Pat LaMarche and Lynne Williams (2010 candidate for governor) are on the opposite sides of a tax referendum issue, Question 2, in this coming November election. LaMarche is in favor of Question 2 and Williams is opposed to the question.
Here is the wording of the ballot question:
Question 2: An Act to Decrease the Automobile Excise Tax and Promote Energy
“Do you want to cut the rate of the municipal excise tax by an average of 55% on motor vehicles less than six years old and exempt hybrid and other alternative-energy and highly fuel-efficient motor vehicles from sales tax and three years of excise tax?”
You can find the language of the legislation here.
Here are what the two sides had to say about the ballot question:
LaMarche and the Yes side:
“To me, it doesn’t matter that they thought I would agree with this. The fact is, they’re right,” LaMarche says.
LaMarche says as a volunteer for the campaign she remembers how hard it is to pay excise taxes and still pay the bills.
She also thinks the proposed changes to the excise tax will provide an incentive for mainers to buy fuel-efficient cars in a better way than the federal government’s Cash for Clunkers program, which gave rebates for older cars, and then took them off the road.
“This one is not that way,” says LaMarche. “The person who buys the more fuel-efficient car will get a tax break as the incentive did for Cash for Clunkers. But their used cars will stay in the car pool so that a person with less opportunity to purchase will still have a car to buy.”
Williams and the No side:
“We wanted to make sure, and reiterate the fact, and set the record straight that environmentalists are not for this issue,” says Lizzy Reinholt, a spokesperson for the NO on 2 campaign. “And Lynne was the perfect person for that.”
Reinholt counters that the referendum would cut revenues by $85 million– money that most towns and cities use to pay for repairs of roads and bridges.
She says that attempts to green the referendum are disingenous, because a hybrid that gets only 20 miles per gallon could still qualify for the tax break.
“I am Green and I try to speak with a green voice,” Williams says.
Williams says that the referendum will not improve the environment AS supporters claims, noting that most Mainers do not have the money to go buy new cars.
Meanwhile, the Maine Green Independent Party has not officially taken a stance yet.