Pot-legalization initiative sponsor Philip Dawdy blasted the labor giant SEIU earlier this
Published 7:00 am Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Pot-legalization initiative sponsor Philip Dawdy blasted the labor giant SEIU earlier this month on his blog, claiming that they had turned their backs on him. Without the SEIU’s money, he claimed, he wouldn’t be able to hire signature gatherers and would be stuck relying on an all volunteer squad, making his initiative a long-shot. But it turns out the SEIU is paying to put signatures on Dawdy’s initative. Just not directly.The SEIU spent $40,000 hiring people like Mike Raupp and Chad Towe to get signatures on measure to levy an income tax on the wealthy. Like any good dealer, Raupp knows how to reel people in.After more than 20 years in the signature-gathering business Towe is an expert at getting people to sign Towe says he paid for the buttons and t-shirts with his own money. Even though he doesn’t get paid for pushing the pot initiative, it draws people to the tables. And if they sign other initiatives, he can collect between $2 and $3 for each one.”[Pot legalization] is the hottest issue in America right now, I believe,” Towe says. “With all the coverage and everything it’s helping out. People are aware of the issue and then they come over and we can talk to them about other issues as well.”The pot buttons and t-shirts don’t bring in much money, but they help pay for things like food and parking, Towe says.And lest you think he doesn’t really believe in the initiatives he’s pushing, Towe also bought the domain name legalizewashington.com, which is emblazoned on the buttons and t-shirts. There isn’t anything on the site at the moment, but “I’ve got my guys working on it,” he says. Though most of those guys are also busy gathering up their own lists of signatures.Another added bonus of having pros do your signature-gathering rather than pot-smoking volunteers? They’re probably more likely to turn them back in. Dawdy says his campaign has 20,000 petitions that went out and still haven’t come in.
