• Name: John Bohney
• Location: Chesterfield, Missouri
• Contribution: Gathered signatures for the Clean Missouri initiative

What is the Clean Missouri initiative?
Clean Missouri was a ballot measure I helped collect signatures for. It aimed to put a stop to gerrymandering. That's the most important thing. The measure also limited gifts to politicians. You do a favor for someone and they want to do a favor for you—it's human nature, but it's not good for the state. Big money is corrupting our democracy. The initiative passed with 62 percent of the vote in 2018.

Tell me more about collecting signatures.
Most of the time, I was down at the libraries. I collected about 1,600 names. It was kind of fun in a way. A lot of people say thank you for doing it. Of course, others don't want to be bothered. They feel offended just by being asked. You know what? That's OK. You have to put up with that. People are different.

Was it hard, at 87, to spend so many hours standing in front of libraries?
Well, there's no enjoyment in watching the boob tube all day. I get enough of that. There's personal satisfaction in doing something good and interfacing with people.

Are you from Missouri?
My first 19 years, I was in Indiana. Then I went into the service and lived in California for 20 years, until I got a promotion to come to Missouri. I was a Department of Defense inspector.

How did you get involved with the Sierra Club?
I was in the Sierra Club 20 years—no, longer than that—and I never volunteered. I'd just go on walks with the local chapter. Then I got here. I don't know how I got wrapped up in it. I liked the good things they were doing, particularly protecting parks in Missouri.

Do you think the Clean Missouri initiative will have a positive impact on the state's environmental issues?
Yeah, I think it will have an effect because it could help to regulate Ameren's lobbying efforts—that's the main producer of electrical power here. They've got their coal ash in a pit that leaches into the groundwater. I'd rather they got their power from wind and solar.

Is there anything else you want me to know about your volunteer work?
I had never collected signatures before. Doing something you've never done before—you don't know what you're going to run into. You wonder, "Will I be embarrassed by this?" You've got to put that aside.

This article appeared in the May/June 2020 edition with the headline "The Balloteer."