Arnold, MO Voters Say No to Eminent Domain Abuse

Arnold, MO Voters Say No to Eminent Domain Abuse

Proposed Constitutional Amendments Will Protect Citizens Statewide

Press Release: April 11, 2008

St. Louis, Mo. — This week, voters in Arnold, Mo., replaced incumbent politicians with candidates who share one characteristic: a pledge to end eminent domain for private use. The City held its election on Tuesday, April 8, 2008, weeks after the Supreme Court of Missouri ruled against dentist Homer Tourkakis, a longtime Arnold resident whose office city officials seek to condemn and hand over to a private developer.

In Ward 2, anti-eminent domain abuse challenger Jerel Poor defeated incumbent John Brazeal by a margin of 67% to 33%. In Ward 1, Matthew Hay—who has publicly opposed private-to-private transfers of land through eminent domain— won with 78% of the vote.

“The election results in Arnold and other jurisdictions around the state emphasize that Missourians are fed up with eminent domain abuse,” said Ron Calzone, chairman of Missouri Citizens for Property Rights. “It's important to understand, though, that most of these wins don't even give the pro-property rights forces a majority in those cities. What's more, gains made in one municipal election can be lost in the next. The people really need the constitutional protection our ballot initiative provides .”

Days before the Arnold election, city officials circulated a media advisory on official letterhead criticizing Dr. Tourkakis for asserting his constitutional rights. The controversy arises out of the City’s efforts to take Dr. Tourkakis’ office so private developers can build big-box stores.

“It’s clear voters understood how wrong it was for the City to use taxpayer money to denounce Homer Tourkakis for defending himself against the abuse of eminent domain,” said his attorney, Tim Sandefur.

Meanwhile, citizens have collected the majority of the signatures necessary for two proposed constitutional amendments that would limit eminent domain to actual public uses.

“The response to our petitions has been overwhelming – the people are hungry for real property rights protection.” Calzone added. “Our projections indicate that we will have the signatures we need by the May 4th deadline, but it's not going to be easy getting there – we still need all the help we can get.”

Contact:
Ron Calzone, chairman
Missouri Citizens for Property Rights
33867 Highway E
Dixon, MO 65459
(573) 759-3585
ron@mo-cpr.org
www.mo-cpr.org

eminent domain battle in MO

Dear Friend of Liberty,

We're getting closer to victory... This is our chance to stop eminent domain for private gain once and for all in Missouri! We need your help!

The Founding Father knew that freedom is not free. On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry gave his famous "Give me liberty, or give me death" speech. We all know of the war that followed and the great sacrifices of our forefathers to secure that liberty for us.

Those great men and women would be appalled at the abuse of the government's power of eminent domain today. Missourian's are losing their homes and businesses âEURO" not for roads, bridges or sewers, but so that private developers can build another strip mall for their own profit! (Read about some of the abuses at: www.mo-cpr.org/fundraise.html) We must not continue to squander the great blessings of liberty that were purchased with so much blood and tears!

For the past two years Missouri Citizens for Property Rights has been working on a solution. We are circulating two petitions to amend the Missouri constitution. If passed by the voters in November 2008, we will end the use of eminent domain for private gain. Instead of being one of the top five abusers of eminent domain, Missouri will have the best property protection in the nation - the very thing that promotes a strong economy.

Volunteers have been collecting signatures since April, 2007. However, volunteers alone can't get the job done. In February, we hired a professional firm to manage the monumental job of collecting 215,000 signatures per petition by the May 4th deadline.

We need your help. This effort will cost about $860,000. We've raised almost $500,000 of that but at the rate we are collecting signatures, that money will soon run out.

We weren't there in 1776 to man musket and cannon, but on the anniversary of Patrick Henry's great speech we want to drop a MONEY BOMB!

Like the sacrifices our Forefathers made, your contribution toward these amendments will protect the property rights of many future generations - and we aren't relying on ANY politicians to get the job done!

Here are two things you can do that WILL make a difference:

1) Go to www.mo-cpr.org/givemeliberty.html and pledge $100 (or whatever you can afford). We will send you a reminder email to make your donation on March 23rd.

2) Pass this email on to as many people as you can.

Together, we can win! Please act NOW!

The battle, sir, is not to the strong alone; it is to the vigilant, the active, the brave...

Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! (Patrick Henry, in a speech before the Second Virginia Convention, March 23, A.D. 1775)

Missouri Supreme Court to Hear Landmark Eminent Domain Case

Missouri Supreme Court to Hear Landmark Eminent Domain Case This Week

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

JEFFERSON CITY - January 14, 2008 — When the Missouri Supreme Court hears the eminent domain case of an Arnold, Mo. dentist on January 17th, the stakes will be much higher than just the fate of one dental practice - the case will affect property owners in 1200 Missouri cities. The Supreme Court's ruling will determine whether non-charter cities like Arnold have the power to take private property for the benefit of wealthy private developers or if their eminent domain powers will be limited to traditional public uses, like roads and sewers.

The case involves Homer Tourkakis, who has operated a successful dental practice in the Arnold triangle for more than two decades. The city of Arnold wants to take Tourkakis's property and turn it over to developer THF Reality, which is planning to put a big box store and other retail establishments in the Arnold Triangle.

Tourkakis's legal defense of his property is straightforward. At the root of it is a clause that has been in the Missouri Constitution since 1875. Article I, Section 28 says, "private property shall not be taken for private use with or without compensation". By itself, this provision would protect against the use of eminent domain for private development, but a new constitutional clause was added in 1945 that amounts to an exception to that protection.

Article VI, Section 21 authorizes the taking of private property and conveying it to a private developer if it is in an area declared to be "blighted, substandard or insanitary". But Dr. Tourkakis argues that this provision applies only to charter (home rule) cities such as St. Louis and Kansas City. Jefferson County Circuit court Judge M. Edward Williams agreed and ruled in favor of Tourkakis in May of 2007. The city of Arnold then appealed to the Supreme Court of Missouri. Two nationally-recognized public interest law firms, The Pacific Legal Foundation and the Institute for Justice, have provided legal assistance to Dr. Tourkakis.

Ron Calzone, chairman of Missouri Citizens for Property Rights (MO-CPR), argues that the Tourkakis case is more evidence that the eminent domain legislation passed in 2006 has not given property owners adequate protections. "When the eminent domain bill was passed by the Missouri legislature in 2006, most people assumed that it would put an end to eminent domain abuse," Calzone said. "But the Arnold controversy, along with dozens of other cases in Saint Louis, Kansas City, Richmond Heights, Sugar Creek, Valley Park, Liberty and elsewhere, demonstrate that property owners are still at risk."

The owner of a Kansas City parking lot learned the hard way that the 2006 legislation would not help when he appealed to what was supposed to be one of the stronger parts of the bill. A December 18, 2007 decision by the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, ruled in favor of a large developer who sought to use eminent domain to take the parking lot so he could build a new headquarters in its place.

Dr. Tourkakis serves on the board of MO-CPR, along with David Danforth one of a group of three Clayton property owners who successfully defended their properties in the Supreme Court last summer. Although Danforth won, the narrow decision provides no real protection for other property owners. Calzone says that a victory in the Tourkakis case would provide greater protections for property owners in non-charter cities, but it would still leave property owners in charter cities - more than half the population of the state - exposed to the same abusive tactics.

He argues that only a constitutional amendment will finally end the scourge of eminent domain for private gain for all Missourians. MO-CPR is currently recruiting volunteers and raising money to collect more than 200,000 signatures for each of two constitutional amendments.

A large crowd of concerned property owners is expected to attend the arguments in court next Thursday, which are at 9:30 AM in the Supreme Court building in Jefferson City.

Go to http://www.mo-cpr.org/sc88647.html for this release and links to court documents.

Contact:
Ron Calzone, chairman
Missouri Citizens for Property Rights
33867 Highway E
Dixon, MO 65459
ron@mo-cpr.org
(573) 368-1344