Yes, at long last, the diary you've all been waiting for (either for the results or for the fact that it means that I'll finally stop harping about it!).
First, the results: WE WON!
Next, the numbers:
Berkley Charter Amendment
Vote for not more than 1
(WITH 7 OF 7 PRECINCTS COUNTED)
YES: 1,861 (45.00%)
NO: 2,275 (55.00%)
Total: 4,136 (100.00%)
Not only was it a solid, no-bullsh*t victory, but it was, I'm told, the highest off-year voter turnout in Berkley's history (over 36%; I believe the previous off-year record was 34%).
As an added bonus, our mayor, as well as all of the city councilmembers who supported us in opposing the nativity proposal was handily reelected for another term.
Lots of little sidebar stories and incidents that I'll save for one more final (for real!) wrap-up diary soon, but in summary:
WHO WON:
--The Vote NO group, Citizens for Religious Freedom, who won a solid victory despite being outspent, outgunned and smeared repeatedly by the opposition
--on a personal level, myself, who made many new friends in a town in which, despite living here for over 6 years, I had previously known very few people.
--Berkley Christians, who get to continue to appreciate one of their most sacred religious symbols without it being cluttered up with candy canes and Frosty the Snowman)
--Berkley Non-Christians, who can now pay their water bill or request a building permit at City Hall without having to have someone else's religion thrust upon them)
--Good taste and aesthetics, since the creche will now be in a display area which is large enough to accompany it, highly visible from a well-trafficked part of the downtown area, not blocked by a giant concrete gazebo, and not surrounded by tacky day-glo reindeer and tacky neon choo-choo trains.
--the Berkley Clergy Association, who suggested the sensible compromise solution in the first place
--the Mayor and City Council (with one exception), who had the correct decision they made last year clearly vindicated.
--the homeowners of Berkley, who ensured that the 20% of potential homebuyers who don't happen to be Christian will feel welcome and included in our small city, thus helping shore up their property values
--the taxpayers of Berkley, who dodged a potentially devastating financial bullet by guaranteeing avoidance of any lawsuits or other legal challenges to the city on this issue
--the City of Berkley as a whole, which finally stopped what was becoming a tremendous amount of embarrassingly negative national PR
--the concepts of religious freedom, equal treatement, and yes, dare I say it, the concept of Separation of Church and State
--and finally, a little thing called the Constitution of the United States of America, which hasn't received a whole lot of love these past few years.
WHO LOST:
--the opposite of everything listed above, thankfully.
Thanks to everyone for putting up with my rants on this issue. Aside from a final wrap-up of some of the weird little side stories that I have planned for tomorrow, this should be my final post on the subject (unless, of course, there's some dramatic new development...)
http://www.citizensforreligiousfreed...
WOO-HOO!!