Vermont citizens, who are not happy that they were blindsided by their mayor who quietly invited 100 Syrians to resettle in the small city, have succeeded in getting enough signatures on a petition to bring the issue before voters…but get this!
The mayor says he isn’t sure he will put it on the ballot! I don’t know enough about Vermont election laws, but I do know a bit about the secrecy surrounding refugee resettlement in almost any city in America where refugees are resettled or where the feds are targeting next, and I know that time and time again arrogant politicians thumb their noses at voters (at their peril!) and that the paid federal contractors sneak refugees into towns with only refugee advocates in on the plan.
For background for new readers, visit our previous posts on the escalating controversy in Rutland, VT by clicking here.
From WAMC Public Radio:
Some residents in the city of Rutland were blindsided when the mayor and the Vermont Refugee Resettlement Program announced in April that 100 Syrian and Iraqi refugees would be coming to the city in October. Now, a petition seeking to put the issue before voters has been validated.
Concerned citizens have appeared repeatedly before the Board of Aldermen seeking information on the resettlement plan. But little information has been made public. A group called Rutland First circulated a petition and collected more than 1,200 signatures asking the mayor and Board of Aldermen to put a proposition before the voters.
[….]
Despite the demand that the refugee resettlement plan be placed before city voters, Mayor Christopher Louras has been quoted that he’s “not inclined at this time to put it on the ballot.” Calls to the mayor were not returned.
Continue reading here.
Have you been noticing a trend? Small town newspapers (owned by big media corporations) are skewing stories to put concerned citizens in the worst light, while there appears to be some efforts still going on at TV and radio stations to give a more balanced report on the latest news about immigration/refugees.
For new readers, find out if your town is already getting refugees by clicking here.
The following cities are ones that are newly targeted. There could be many more, but these are the ones we have reported on so far (in addition to Rutland): Reno, NV, Ithaca, NY, Missoula, MT, Charleston, WV, and Fayetteville, AR. Again, I believe there are dozens more. Let me know if you suspect something is up where you live!