Homer op-ed worth reading
March 25, 2008 by elcap
Homer Tourkakis — the dentist who lost an eminent domain case before the Missouri Supreme Court last week — has a wonderful op-ed in today’s St. Louis Post Dispatch. Here’s a clip:
When I started my dental practice in the the city of Arnold more than two decades ago, I never dreamed that years of hard work could be wiped out at the stroke of a pen. I believed that if I worked hard, played by the rules and supported myself and my family, my elected officials would protect my right to enjoy the fruits of my labor.
Those illusions were shattered one week ago when a Missouri Supreme Court decision held that the state constitution allows Arnold - like other non-chartered cities (those with populations of 5,000 people or fewer and lacking the equlivalennt of local constitutions) - to take my property and give it to a private developer….
The only way left to protect our property rights is to amend the state constitution to prohibit the use of eminent domain for private profit. Missouri’s initiative process allows us to bypass the judges and politicians and go straight to the voters, and I am proud to serve on the board of Missouri Citizens for Property Rights, a grass-roots effort to put two constitutional amendments on this November’s ballot.
Even if the measures qualify for the November ballot and even if voters pass them, these amendments may come too late to save my property. But I want to ensure that no other Missourians will have to go through the same heart-wrenching ordeal my wife and I have experienced.
To read the whole piece, click here.
