Tuesday is the last day for early voting in Terrell. Terrell voters are
being asked to vote either for or against Proposition 1, or Ordinance No.
2457. I don't understand all parts of this ordinance, and there is so much
misinformation out there it's hard to tell what's fact or fiction. From
what I can tell, it's supposed to be about rental properties staying in
code. I am buying owner-financed and still don't know how it relates to me.
I really don't want to get involved in all of it, but....
Monday morning as I left my house, I had a flyer at the foot of my front
door and one INSIDE my mailbox. I may be reading postal regulations from a
few years ago, but I think it's illegal to place anything in or on a mailbox
that does not have US Postage on it. This is a two page flyer that, from
what I can tell, is made to look like it came from the city.
Page 1 is titled "Items on the May 14, 2011 Ballot" Below the title it's
made to look like someone hand-wrote 'Vote Yes!'.
There are words on the page like "we" and "our". The second sentence says,
"it is an extension of our current apartment inspection program." Farther
down the page it says, "we want to prevent buildings from declining to the
point they have to be condemned." It makes it sound like this is a
city-endorsed flyer.
Statistics are cited on page 1, but the source is never named or attributed.
Page 2 is titled " City Of Terrell Crime-Free Life/Safety Inspection
Checklist". It's a checklist of some of the requirements for
something.....not sure what something is. Is it Ordinance 2457? Part of
2457? Is there a place where I can read the entire prop? I could probably
find it, but what about someone who isn't online everyday?
#4 on the list: Windows-There can not be any broken or damaged windows. I wonder how Saturday's post fits in with this?
Bottom line, I don't know how I am going to vote yet, and I don't know who
placed the flyer in my mailbox. There are no tags showing who put it there
or who paid for it. I have tomorrow off and plan on talking to someone
about the flyer. Saturday is the official election day.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I think it's still illegal, a Federal crime, to put a flyer in a mailbox.
