TAMPA BAY TIMES: “VOTE NO ON 13”

Citing the “politicized” Constitution Revision Commission (CRC) and the “partisan underpinning” of its “disappointing results,” editors of the Tampa Bay Times are urging Floridians to vote NO on Question 13, the amendment to ban greyhound racing.

And they didn’t stop there. In a scathing indictment of the CRC’s work, the September 28 editorial called on voters to reject all but one of the 12 ballot questions, including Amendments 6-12, the half-dozen questions the CRC added to the ballot.

“The CRC squandered an opportunity that occurs only once every 20 years to propose meaningful reforms to the Constitution,” editors wrote. “Its amendments are a muddle of unrelated issues.”

The publication’s writers noted the lack of sound reasoning on why any of the proposals should be added to the Constitution. On greyhound racing, they were particularly blunt. “Whatever your view on dog racing, its disposition doesn’t belong in the Constitution. On Amendment 13, the Tampa Bay Times recommends voting NO.”