Amador County – The Ione City Council on Tuesday took no action on a petition for a voter initiative to do away with the city police force, and also received no public comment on the matter. City Clerk Janice Traverso said no one wanted to speak during the public comment period, when the council considered the clerk’s recommendation to take no action on the petition due to legal error that forced her to not be able to accept and certify the petition. Traverso in a report last week to the council said the petition filed by nearby Amador County resident Jim Scully did not have the required “Notice of Intention to Circulate Initiative Petition” attached to each section of the petition, as required by California election law. The petition received a title from the city attorney as required by law and was called “An Initiative Transferring Responsibility for Providing Law Enforcement Services from the Ione Police Department to the Amador County Sheriff.” The number of valid signatures of registered voters was verified by Amador County Registrar of Voters Sheldon Johnson. The petition was said to have arrived too late to make the November 2010 ballot, and the council would have considered placing it on the 2012 ballot, if not for the legal error. The council also had discussed the legality of the initiative’s subject matter, and was told by City Attorney Kristen Castanos that it appeared to be unconstitutional in requiring the county to take over the policing duties of the city. The council debated filing a suit against the petition, but a motion failed on a 3-2 vote. City Manager Kim Kerr said any discussion of a lawsuit Tuesday would have occurred in closed session. She said it was likely any lawsuit would be defensive in nature, if Scully, or lead petitioner, Ione resident Denise Robertson, chose to sue the city over a decision to not certify the petition. Traverso said the council broke from closed session and reported that no direction was given to staff on the matter. Traverso last week sent a letter to petitioner Robertson notifying her that “the petition is insufficient.” A report to the council by Traverso, Kerr and City Attorney Thomas Henry included a 1986 ruling in a similar case, in favor of San Francisco. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Thursday, 09 September 2010 06:23
Ione takes no action on Scully police initiative
Amador County – The Ione City Council on Tuesday took no action on a petition for a voter initiative to do away with the city police force, and also received no public comment on the matter. City Clerk Janice Traverso said no one wanted to speak during the public comment period, when the council considered the clerk’s recommendation to take no action on the petition due to legal error that forced her to not be able to accept and certify the petition. Traverso in a report last week to the council said the petition filed by nearby Amador County resident Jim Scully did not have the required “Notice of Intention to Circulate Initiative Petition” attached to each section of the petition, as required by California election law. The petition received a title from the city attorney as required by law and was called “An Initiative Transferring Responsibility for Providing Law Enforcement Services from the Ione Police Department to the Amador County Sheriff.” The number of valid signatures of registered voters was verified by Amador County Registrar of Voters Sheldon Johnson. The petition was said to have arrived too late to make the November 2010 ballot, and the council would have considered placing it on the 2012 ballot, if not for the legal error. The council also had discussed the legality of the initiative’s subject matter, and was told by City Attorney Kristen Castanos that it appeared to be unconstitutional in requiring the county to take over the policing duties of the city. The council debated filing a suit against the petition, but a motion failed on a 3-2 vote. City Manager Kim Kerr said any discussion of a lawsuit Tuesday would have occurred in closed session. She said it was likely any lawsuit would be defensive in nature, if Scully, or lead petitioner, Ione resident Denise Robertson, chose to sue the city over a decision to not certify the petition. Traverso said the council broke from closed session and reported that no direction was given to staff on the matter. Traverso last week sent a letter to petitioner Robertson notifying her that “the petition is insufficient.” A report to the council by Traverso, Kerr and City Attorney Thomas Henry included a 1986 ruling in a similar case, in favor of San Francisco. Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.Latest from
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