Note: On October 6, a petition was presented at a public hearing on an Interim Use Permit for a cannabis business in Shorewood. But there’s at least one problem with that petition.
Someone took the liberty of adding Shorewood Citizen Advocates’ name to a Change.org petition opposing cannabis sales without our permission. This raises concerns about misrepresentation, deceptive practices, and the unauthorized use of our identity.
Let’s be clear: SCA does not sign petitions. We do not take sides by adding our organization’s name to someone else’s campaign. Whoever used our name had no authority to do so and misrepresented our position. That is unacceptable.
Change.org promotes its signatures as “verified.” Yet SCA’s name appeared on a petition we never signed, and it took four rounds of back-and-forth before Change.org finally agreed to contact the petition’s author about removing our name. So much for verification. So far, Change.org has failed to correct the record—the very record it promotes as “verified.”
To whoever thought using SCA’s name without authorization would lend credibility to your cause: You do not get to borrow our name, manufacture our endorsement, or speak for us. We expect better from anyone participating in public debate. SCA will continue to report the facts and let readers draw their own conclusions rather than put our thumb on the scale by signing petitions.
SCA Editors
