By Mimi Gates for Robinson newspapers

I am Mimi Gates and I support Initiative 517 because I am a strong believer in our initiative rights which our state has had for over a century. Our right to initiative and petition our government is the most important tool we have to push back when government does things we don't like.

Initiative 517's primary policy change is guaranteeing you the right to vote on qualified initiatives.

In a unanimous ruling, the Washington State Supreme Court in 2005 rejected an effort by special interest groups to stop the people from voting on a qualified initiative. Their reason: "Because ballot measures are often used to express popular will and to send a message to elected representatives, pre-election review unduly infringes on free speech."

Despite this clear ruling by the Supreme Court, dozens of citizen-sponsored initiatives - liberal and conservative - were blocked from a public vote in recent years even though local citizens followed all the rules.

In King County, after local citizens qualified an initiative to reduce the size of the King County Council, the county sued to block the vote.

In Vancouver, after local citizens qualified an initiative for the ballot, the city council refused to let the people vote.

In Bellingham, Monroe, Redmond, Longview, Wenatchee, and my hometown of Mukilteo, local citizens sponsored initiatives letting the voters decide on red-light ticketing cameras in their communities. In every instance, the city or out-of-state red-light camera company sued the citizens to block the vote. Their lawyers said only politicians were capable of deciding.

I was part of a team of local citizens in Mukilteo who sponsored and qualified one of those red-light camera initiatives for a vote. It was maddening when the out-of-state red-light camera company sued to prevent the people from voting on it.

Unfortunately, this same thing has happened repeatedly to state and local initiatives.

But I-517 fixes that. With I-517, if the initiative qualifies, then the voters decide.

I-517 also gives everyone greater access to the initiative process. Since 1912, the number of signatures required to qualify for the ballot has skyrocketed almost tenfold, while the time to manually collect signatures has remained the same at six months. Oregon allows two years; Idaho a year and a half. I-517 simply matches the national average ... which is one year to collect signatures.

And I-517 does one other thing that's really important: it stops initiative opponents from bullying people who want to sign an initiative petition. Bullying -- on sidewalks, walkways, and other public places -- is becoming far too common and I-517 puts a stop to it. I-517 makes it safe for you to exercise your right to participate and vote.

But what really moved me about Initiative 517 - what convinced me to support it and speak out for it - is its guarantee that the people get to vote on qualified initiatives. With I-517's protections, future generations will have the chance to have their voices heard at the state and local level.

Please vote yes on 517.

Mimi Gates is a longtime Mukilteo resident. For more information on I-517, go to their website www.Yeson517.com