Petition groups hit the malls, Internet

As the holiday shopping season kicked into full swing Friday, signature gatherers for ballot initiatives were taking advantage of the crowds.

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Initiative sponsors face a Jan. 12 deadline - the first day of the legislative session - to collect 23,286 signatures to make it onto the 2004 ballot. Some are turning to the Internet to put potential signers in touch with petitioners.

"I guess today is the day to go shop for signatures," said Cindy Spanyers, who set up a table a Nugget Mall, near the airport.

Spanyers and Jesse Kiehl, a volunteer signature gatherer and aide to Juneau Democratic Sen. Kim Elton, spent Friday collecting signatures for ballot initiatives for campaign finance reform and filling Senate vacancies.

The campaign finance reform initiative would limit the amount individuals, political parties and political action committees can donate to candidates. It also would reduce the amount of time lobbyists can spend persuading lawmakers before having to file as lobbyists with the state.

The Senate vacancy initiative would require a special election to fill vacancies in the U.S. Senate. Now the vacancies are filled by the governor.

Karen Compton, a coordinator for Trust the People, the group pushing the Senate vacancies initiative, said it also is relying on the Internet to connect petitioners with people.

A new Web site by the Alaska Democratic Party, "Democracy, Not Dynasty!" allows those who are interested in signing the initiatives to send their name, address and phone numbers to signature collectors in their area. The Web site is www.trust-the-people.org.

Compton said Trust the People has only one office in Anchorage, but people from throughout the state have called inquiring about signing the petitions.

"The plan is to create almost like a map of different areas and then petitioners will go to people's houses," she said. "This is for people who want to sign but can't make it to Anchorage."

Compton said the group has about 250 petitioners that already have collected about 12,500 signatures for the Senate vacancies initiative.

"We're trying to get between 30,000 and 33,000 signatures total," she said. The extra signatures would cover those that are invalid, she said.

Compton also noted that gatherers are hitting the malls in Anchorage and other cities over the next few weeks to tap into the holiday shopping crowds.

Signature gatherers will be at all four major malls in Anchorage this weekend and at Centennial Hall in Juneau for the Juneau Public Market, a crafts and holiday gifts fair, she said.