HomeMy WebLinkAbout081307CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND
CITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL BUSINESS MEETING OF AUGUST 13, 2007
CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
The City Council of the City of Port Townsend met in regular session the
thirteenth day of August 2007, at 6:30 p.m. in the Port Townsend City Council
Chambers of City Hall, Mayor Mark Welch presiding.
ROLL CALL
Council members present at roll call were Frank Benskin, Laurie Medlicott,
Catharine Robinson, Michelle Sandoval, George Randels, and Mark Welch.
Geoff Masci was excused.
Staff members present were City Manager David Timmons, City Attorney John
Watts, and City Clerk Pam Kolacy.
REVIEW CHANGE OF FORM OF GOVERNMENT PETITION ISSUES AND
CONSIDER RECISSION, REPEAL AND/OR RECONSIDERATION OF
RESOLUTION 07-026 (AUGUST 6, 2007) PROVIDING FOR AN ELECTION ON
CHANGE OF FORM OF GOVERNMENT BASED ON AUDITOR'S ISSUANCE
OF CERTIFICATE OF SUFFICIENCY
Mayor Welch outlined the circumstances leading up to the special meeting,
noting that he had concerns about the Auditor's certification process after reading
a Leader article which stated that some signatures had been certified even
though the information supplied on the petition did not match the information on
file at the County for that individual. The article stated that there had been at
least one instance of invalidation after certification and that there could be more
invalidations, potentially rendering the petition short of signatures. The Mayor
requested a review of procedures. Attorney Steve DiJulio was retained to act as
special legal counsel to the City. The special counsel was retained to maintain
an arm's length distance of the Administration from the issues. In addition, City
Attorney John Watts was out of the office at the time this information was
published.
Mayor Welch also corrected the record by stating he was mistaken when he
earlier had said that the election would cost the City $10,000.
Mr. DiJulio reviewed the three main issues for Council's consideration:
1. No terminal date was set in writing by the Auditor as required by RCW
35A.01.040. After this terminal date is set and the count is started, no
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signatures may be added to the petition. While no termination date was
set, the initial count which led to the Certificate of Insufficiency was the
equivalent. After that count, no further signatures could be submitted and
counted, which is what occurred here. Mr. DiJulio noted that MRSC
concurred with him in this position.
2. Some petition signatures were counted where the signature on the petition
varied from the Auditor's voter registration information. The Auditor
reregistered the person to the address on the petition, and counted the
signature. State law (RCW 29A.08.410) governs the ways in which a
voter may change their registration information but signing a local petition
is not among them.
3. Certain persons signed the petition multiple times, which is not allowed by
RCW 35A.01.040(7). The law requires that the petition state that it is a
misdemeanor to sign more than once and that all signatures be thrown
out, not just the duplicates.
He then outlined the Council's options:
Disregard the petition and submit the ballot measure to the voters
independently of the petition.
Repeal the prior resolution and determine that the Auditor was without
authority to certify the petition.
Take no action on Resolution 07-026; forward to the Auditor and see
whether it is considered valid (possibly leading to a legal challenge based
on a potentially flawed process).
4. Rescind or repeal the Resolution and do not forward any request to the
Auditor to place the measure on the November ballot based on the
infirmities identified to date (leading potentially to a legal challenge by the
petition proponents}.
Mr. Watts noted that Deputy Prosecuting Attorney David Alvarez says his office
is reviewing these issues and trying to obtain information from the Secretary of
State. If signatures are invalid according to the issues above, the petition would
have about 417 signatures rather than the required 455.
Public comment:
Joshua Bennun spoke in favor of Council/Mayor form of government and favored
rescinding the resolution.
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Mr. DiJulio stated that he does not believe, that in this situation, the City will be
free from exposure no matter what action is taken and added that it is
unfortunate the City has been put in this situation.
Motion: Ms. Sandoval moved to rescind Resolution 07-026, dated August 6,
2007. Mr. Randels seconded. After discussion, the motion carried unanimously,
6-Q by voice vote.
ADJOURN
There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:53 p.m.
Attest:
Pam Kolacy, CMC
City Clerk
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