THE FULL STORY:

A FACTUAL ACCOUNT OF THE ACTIVITIES
OF THE WE THE PEOPLE ORGANIZATION,
ITS PREDECESSORS
AND THEIR FOUNDER, ROBERT L. SCHULZ

(Excerpted from a much larger document still under development.)

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The Transition 

In 1979, Robert L. Schulz began his transition from his first career (industry, state government, federal government, Wall Street and management consulting) to his current career (holding elected officials accountable to the Constitutions and laws of New York State and the United States).  Schulz completed the transition in 1988, closing down his professional office in Albany to take up the Cause of Freedom full time.
 

In 1973, to house a management consulting business, Schulz “converted 2000 square feet of his house to an office.”[1]

“In 1979, Schulz founded the Tri-County Taxpayers Association (TCTA) to serve the People in Washington, Warren and Saratoga Counties in his State of New York. In 1990, Schulz founded the All-County Taxpayers Association (ACTA) to serve the People in all counties of New York State. In 1997, Schulz founded the We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education, Inc., and the We The People Congress, Inc., (WTP) to serve all the People in America."[2] The address of each non-profit corporation, as given on the incorporation papers, was the same as Schulz’s home address. This has been true for TCTA, ACTA and WTP.[3]

It has never occurred to Schulz, “to have any donations to TCTA, ACTA or WTP go toward the cost of renting or building an office when I had one freely available.”[4] It is also a fact that Schulz has “never received rent from TCTA, ACTA or WTP for the office space.”[5] Nor has Schulz “ever taken a deduction on my tax returns for donating space in his home to TCTA, ACTA or WTP."[6] Finally, it is also true that Schulz has “never sought or received any remuneration for any of this work,” saying, “I could never accept payment for defending the Constitutions against governmental abuse."[7]

Between _______ and ________ the We The People organization’s predecessors published a monthly newsletter, T.J.’s Perspective, which was mailed to thousands of subscribers every month for 50 months, free of charge.

Schulz and his wife of 47 years, live on a small farm in upstate New York, where they raised four children. They “live a very frugal life."[8]

The Early Years: Petitioning Government in New York State  

In 1979, the We The People organization’s predecessor organizations, the Tri-County Taxpayers Association and the All-County Taxpayers Association, began comparing the actions of local and state government officials in New York with the requirements of the laws of New York State, including the State Constitution.  

Between 1979 and 1996, the organizations filed dozens of Petitions for Redress of Grievances, as lawsuits against the Governor, the State Legislature, quasi-public state and local “independent” Authorities, the State Comptroller, Town and County governing boards, Mayors and School Boards of Education. The Courts often agreed with the organizations, often enough to provide the organizations with the attention and support of citizens, media and even some in the government.  As news of the cases spread, the organizations were contacted by individuals around the state to learn how they too could confront government actions they perceived to be out of line with their Right to constitutional governance carried out in decency and good order.

When Petitioning the courts for Redress of Grievances, Schulz, always as a party to the case, performed the research, prepared the Complaints and argued the cases in court. When WTP or one of its predecessor organizations was a party to the proceeding, as a corporation, it has been represented by a licensed attorney as required by law. 

To date, the work of the Foundation and its predecessor organizations has resulted in dozens of decisions by the Unified Court System of New York State, often setting significant judicial precedent, including the following examples:
 

Petitions for Redress: State Environmental Law 

Early on, the work of the Foundation’s predecessor organizations was directed at holding elected officials accountable to the same environmental laws the People were required to comply with.

Their early work was recognized by Michael B. Gerrard who, writing for the New York Law Journal referred to Schulz as, “New York's best-known and most successful pro se environmental litigant.” [9]

In 1982, in a Petition for Redress that set precedent in environmental law, the Tri-County Taxpayers Association prevailed in a lawsuit, preventing the Town of Queensbury, and County of Warren from violating the State Environmental Quality Review Act by connecting Lake George to the Hudson River, via a massive new sewer project, without first completing an Environmental Impact Statement. The State’s highest Court nullified the results of a countywide referendum and the resolutions passed by the Town and County Boards approving and financing the Project. [10]

In 1994, in a Petition for Redress that set precedent in environmental law, Schulz, acting on behalf of ACTA, prevailed in a lawsuit, by preventing the State of New York from violating the State Environmental Quality Review Act by adopting wastewater regulations without first completing an Environmental Impact Statement. [11]

Petition for Redress: State Highway Law 

In 1989, in a Petition for Redress that set precedent in New York State highway law, Schulz prevailed in a lawsuit against his Town of Queensbury, the lead defendant in Tri-County Taxpayers Assn. v. Queensbury (1982) who, in an apparent act of retaliation, attempted to prevent him from building a road to connect his new residential sub-division to a Town Road. [12]
 

Petitions for Redress: State Money and Debt  

In 1990, in a Petition for Redress that set precedent in New York State constitutional law, Schulz, acting on behalf of the Tri-County Taxpayers Association, prevailed in a lawsuit aimed at showing that any issue on a ballot is a private matter until it passes and, since Articles VII and VIII of the State Constitution prohibits the use of public funds in aid of a private undertaking, no public funds can be used to sway the results of or propagandize any issue on any ballot. The Court declared unconstitutional Governor Cuomo’s use of public funds to print and mail to households across the State, a pamphlet designed not to exhort a “yes” vote, but to sway the results of a statewide vote on a ballot proposition through “persuasive communications.” In the words of the Court, “The governmental view would most always prevail if its overwhelming financial resources could be used to support issues that are in the domain of the electorate… The words of Thomas Jefferson are even more essential in government today: "I know of no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves, and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it away from them but to inform their discretion by education."[13]

In 1992, the work of the Foundation’s predecessor organizations in holding government accountable to the New York Constitution was recognized by Sarah Lyall who wrote, in a feature story in the New York Times , “Mr. Schulz has raised questions about New York State's habit of balancing its budget through what he sees as unacceptable maneuvers, including year-end borrowing that rolls deficits over into the next fiscal year and one-shot gimmicks that provide a sudden infusion of money but leave a revenue gap for the following year.”[14] 

Again in 1992, in writing about another of the Petitions for Redress, Sarah Lyall wrote, “A state judge declared today that one of New York State's pet budget-balancing techniques was illegal…the State Supreme Court said that the state's habit of borrowing money at the end of one fiscal year to balance that year's budget, and then paying it back the next fiscal year, was unconstitutional. The state has done this since 1988 to close its deficits, and it did it again at the end of last month, issuing $531 million in short-term debt to close an expected budget shortfall for the 1992-1993 fiscal year… ‘What occurred here was an unconstitutional rollover of state debt without voter approval … This is, purely and simply, an attempt to sweep a yearlong deficit under the constitutional rug by incurring debt without voter approval.’"[15] 

In 1993, in writing about yet another of the Petitions for Redress, Sarah Lyall referred to Schulz as a “a retired engineer who has long argued that the state constantly violates the New York State Constitution's provision against borrowing without explicit voter approval.”[16]  

In writing about another of the Petitions for Redress, Sarah Lyall wrote, “The New York State Court of Appeals ruled today that citizens have the right to challenge state borrowing done without voter approval, reversing its earlier position and opening the door to a flurry of lawsuits…The decision was a victory for Robert L. Schulz of Glens Falls, N.Y., who has devoted recent years to challenging the way the state spends its money. Mr. Schulz, a retired engineer who represents himself in court, has argued that as money grows tighter, the state's mechanisms for closing its budget gaps become shadier, falling increasingly beyond voter scrutiny.”[17] The result of the Court victory was referred to as a “landmark ruling” by Dr. Gerald Benjamin.[18]  

In 1995, in a Petition for Redress that set precedent in New York State constitutional law, ACTA prevailed in a lawsuit aimed at declaring unconstitutional Governor Mario Cuomo’s use of public funds to print and distribute to the Hispanic community of New York City, 50,000 copies of a newsletter, “Voice of New York,” which was designed to sway the results of the vote in the 1992 Bush 43/Clinton election through “persuasive communications.” [19]

In 1995, in a Petition for Redress that set precedent in New York State constitutional law, ACTA prevailed in a lawsuit aimed at declaring unconstitutional the State Comptroller’s use of a public fax machine to distribute a message to newspapers around the state encouraging a “yes” vote for a proposed Constitutional Amendment, a proposition that was to appear on the ballot in November. [20]
 

Petition for Redress: “Standing” to Sue State Government  

In 1993, in a Petition for Redress that set precedent in New York State standing and finance law, Schulz, acting on behalf of the All County Taxpayers Association, filed a lawsuit aimed at preventing the State from selling Attica Prison to itself in violation of the State Finance Article of the State Constitution. Schulz prevailed in getting the State’s highest court to overrule an earlier decision that had been relied upon to prohibit the State’s courts from hearing cases by taxpayers challenging the State if the matter involved the issuance of bonds or bond anticipation notes. Schulz overcame the State’s standing doctrine by arguing that the Constitution trumps all statutes and judicial doctrines, and he, as sovereign had a Right to a response on the merits to his Complaint – i.e., his Petition for Redress of Grievances. [21]

In 1994, in a Petition for Redress that set precedent in the law of standing and Municipal Finance, Schulz, acting on behalf of ACTA, prevailed in a lawsuit aimed at preventing a municipality from “rolling over” certain contracts from year to year without competing bids.  He gained standing, as a State taxpayer, to sue the distant municipality on the ground that the municipality paid its bills using both local and state funds that had been “co-mingled.” [22] 
 

Petition for Redress: Ballot Access in New York State

In 1994, a Petition for Redress that set a precedent in New York State election law, ACTA prevailed in preventing the Republican and Democrat Parties from blocking an Independent candidate from accessing the ballot. Two provisions of the election law were nullified and Schulz was placed on the ballot as the Libertarian candidate for Governor.[23]
 

Petition for Redress involving Mayoral Power under City Charter 

In 1996, in a Petition for Redress that set precedent under “standing” and municipal law, Schulz, who did not live in Glens Falls, acting on behalf of ACTA, prevailed in a lawsuit aimed at nullifying a vote by the mayor of Glens Falls who was “wasting State and local funds” by casting a vote to approve an expenditure of public funds after members of the City Council voted 3 to 2 in favor, and one abstention. In violation of the City Charter of Glens Fall, NY the abstention was counted as a “no” vote, which set the stage for a vote by the mayor “to break a tie.” The Court ruled an abstention in not a “no” vote and the City Charter authorized the mayor to vote only to break a tie in matters involving expenditures of public funds.[24]

Preparing for a New York Constitutional Convention

In 1997, on the first Monday of every month between April and November, as a public service, and under the leadership and sponsorship of the Foundation’s predecessor organization, the All-County Taxpayers Association, citizens from counties throughout New York State gathered in the main hearing room at the State Legislative Office Building to formally discuss, debate and vote on proposed changes to the New York State Constitution. The group called itself the We The People Congress, and was the forerunner of the We The People organization that was incorporated on November 12, 1997. The work product of the group included 31 proposed changes that would further “protect individual freedoms and limit the unconstitutional, but institutionalized practices of the New York State Government.” The proposed changes were to be presented to the delegates of the New York Constitutional Convention, if the people voted “yes” in the 1997 general election to the question “"Shall there be a convention to revise the constitution and amend the same?" The State Constitution requires the question be on the ballot every twenty years.[25]

ACTA was in favor of a “yes” vote on the question, but did not have the organization, power or money needed to bring the issue to the attention of the voters. The Governor and the legislators were virtually mute on the matter. There was virtually no public notice of the fact that the question would be on the ballot. In the week before the election, the public employee unions and trial lawyers paid for a barrage of television ads calling for a “no” vote. Within days of the defeat, Schulz incorporated the We The People Foundation for Constitutional Education, Inc., and the We The People Congress, Inc.

The Later Years: Petitioning the Federal Government for Redress

(Coming)