Antiwar petition drive took just 4 hours

When Maureen Hearn of Needham set out last spring to petition for a town wide resolution calling on President George Bush and Congress to bring the troops home from Iraq, she thought the biggest hurdle would be gathering the 200 signatures required to put the question on the Nov. 7 ballot in her state representive's district.

Hearn and a volunteer from a veterans organization took to the town dump, a Saturday morning hub for activists and politicians because it's the one place you can count on residents visiting.

What she thought would be a long, arduous day ended in about four hours.

Most of the people they asked, Hearn said, were ``happy" to sign the petition.

Needham voters next month will be asked to weigh in on their views on the Iraq war, along with voters in 139 other Massachusetts cities and towns, including Dover, Medfield, Millis, Natick, Newton, Sherborn, Waltham, and Watertown.

The resolution asks voters whether their state representatives should vote in favor of an immediate end to the war and a withdrawal of troops.

The Statewide Campaign to Bring Our Troops Home Now , a coalition of four peace organizations that started the ballot initiative, plans to put another resolution calling for an immediate end to the war before the Legislature after the November vote, said Paul Shannon , state coordinator of the referendum. Shannon sees the ballot question as a way for voters to put ``moral pressure" on the legislators.

Hearn and her husband, Michael, are members of Military Families Speak Out , one of the groups co sponsoring the initiative.

The Hearns, who had a relative serving in Iraq, decided to petition for a town wide stance on the war after Town Meeting did not act on a similar resolution last spring. Some Town Meeting members argued that they did not have enough time to talk with their constituents about their views on the war.

Another member, John Commando , said he did not feel that Town Meeting had the right to ``legislate a town conscience."

Hearn said the vote will be a ``clear indication of what our conscience is."

Needham selectmen chairman John H. Cogswell opposed the May resolution, questioning whether it was within the town's expertise.

``I don't think we know enough about it to make a judgment," said Cogswell, referring to the effects of an immediate end to the war and the complexities of troop withdrawal.

Eric D. Leskowitz , the Town Meeting member who proposed the May resolution, said the ballot question is a way for many more residents to voice their views on the Iraq war than was the case at Town Meeting. But he worried that voters might get turned off by the word ``immediate."

``I suspect that some people will prefer a `rapid' or a `gradual' withdrawal," said Leskowitz.

Shannon, the campaign coordinator, said the groups deliberated at length whether to use the word ``immediate" in the question.

``We went over that many times," said Shannon.

`` `Immediate' makes it clear we want to end the war now. Realistically it would mean `wind down the offensive.' "

Shannon said the coalition's stance is to figure out a plan for troop withdrawal in an orderly and safe way.

``It doesn't say to bring the troops home tomorrow," said Shannon, referring to the ballot question.