Fluoridation and Safe Drinking Water Votes Jeff Green
Citizens for Safe Drinking Water
November 3, 2004
Quick update on safe drinking water
measures and fluoridation measures on the November 2, 2004
ballot. All numbers are from reports that may change due to
absentee or provisional ballots not yet considered:
Fluoridation:
Davis County, Utah: 51, 581 Yes 51.1%
Allows recent fluoridation to continue
49, 399 No 48.9%
Heartbreaking, second popular vote supporting fluoridation,
despite tremendous effort.
Lancaster, Ohio: 7,563 Yes 48.3% Rejects
fluoridation again
8,084 No 51.7%
With 91% of the State of Ohio fluoridated due to a State
mandate with a one-time opt out in the 1970s, the proponents
of fluoridation continue to attempt to chip away at the
holdouts. Lancaster joins Wooster as another Ohio community
that has recently stood up for its right to fluoride-free
water.
Mount Pleasant, Michigan: 3, 234 Yes 52%
Halts long-time fluoridation
2,990 No 48%
Despite consistent misinterpretation of this ordinance, voters
join Watsonville and Redding California, and Honolulu, HI in
setting criteria for substances added to the water for
purposes of treating humans rather than the water. Media and
proponents of fluoridation concede that this measure will halt
the decades-long practice of fluoridation with
hydrofluosilicic acid in Mount Pleasant.
Unfortunately, the media continues to represent that the
initiative creates an impossible threshold to meet because the
FDA does not have authority over water, when in fact they omit
that no fluoride substance intended to be ingested for purpose
of reducing tooth decay has ever been approved for fulfilling
the claims of safety and effectiveness, and that the
fluoridation products are contaminated.
Santa Maria, California: Yes 48.7%
Fails to halt intended fluoridation
No 51.2%
Proponents are crowing that this is the first California
voters' rejection of this type of initiative which is nearly
identical to the ordinances now enacted in Redding and
Watsonville, California , and yesterday in Mount Pleasant,
Michigan. It is difficult to tell if absentee or provisional
ballots will alter this preliminary outcome, but proponents of
the safe drinking water measure have stated that they will not
be deterred from halting the use of untested, unapproved
substances with excessive contaminants, despite the City's
eagerness and preparation to begin.
Monticello, Arkansas: 1396 Yes 48.3%
Fails to halt reintroduction
1495 No 51.7%
A loss by 99 votes for the safe drinking water initiative;
however Linda Bryant of Monticello Citizens for Safe Drinking
Water is filing a complaint with the District Attorney's
office on the advice of the State Attorney's office that has
determined that the distribution of campaign materials
opposing the initiative through students in the classrooms is
a violation of Arkansas election codes.
Fluoridation was halted by water operations because of
corrosion of equipment. Promoters of fluoridation have applied
pressure for obtaining funding to reinstall and begin
operations anew.
No daily newspaper/no report available
Council Action __ Rejects fluoridation
Unrelated to November voters' action, on October 26, 2004 it
was reported that the Board of South Blount Utilities,
Maryland Tennessee, rejected the public policy of fluoridation
in their new treatment facility.
Hutchinson, Kansas
Totals with 39 of 40 precincts: 16183
YES 8442 52.17% Repeals ordinance
to fluoridate
NO 7741 47.83%
A note from Bob Hetrick, Wichita, Kansas
Hi All,
I don't know how widely Wayne mailed this. So I may err in
repetition.
Hutchinson is about 50 miles north of Wichita (Ks' largest
city). Its pop. is about 41,000.
The victory is especially sweet because the major source of
bribes to communities to fluoridate, the United Methodist
Health Ministeries, has its headquarters in Hutchinson.
They quietly approach Ks towns (city councils) and make their
pitch...usually we find out about the effort by accident!!
Stealth!
This victory is sweet. Wayne worked very hard. I am so proud
of him. Thanks to Dr. David Kennedy and Dr. Albert Burkstahler
(chemistry) at KU for coming to the forum we had a few days
before the election. No pro's came as usual.
This is the second time Hutch has defeated F. Wayne says it
can't come up for another 10 years in that town. Great.
Bye for now,
Bob Hetrick, Wichita, Ks.
PS. the local paper doesn't have the article on line...
