The Arizona Supreme Court let stand a decision by the Court of Appeals that allowed the Oro Valley Town Clerk to reject over 3000 valid signatures by residents on referendum petitions. The petitions, which were rejected due to a clerical error, would have forced the Town’s proposed purchase of the El Conquistador Country Club and golf course to be voted on by residents.
The petitions, which did not contain the Town generated serial numbers, were filed January 15, 2015. Referendum organizers sought to refer to the ballot the December 17, 2014 decision by a small majority of the Town Council to acquire the aging Country Club for use as a Town Community Center and the Golf and Tennis facilities.
A lawsuit was filed in January soon after the Clerk’s rejection by citizens asking the courts to declare the petitions valid despite the minor clerical error. A trial court decision at Superior Court was rendered in favor of the Town. In February, these citizens took the trial court decision up to the Court of Appeals. The Attorney General’s Office also asked to intervene and argue in support of the Clerk’s position in front of the Court of Appeals. On March 12, 2015, the Court of Appeals rendered a decision finding the Town Clerk acted appropriately in rejecting the petitions. The citizens then filed a petition for review at the Arizona Supreme Court.
The Town began purchasing equipment including signage before the purchase was closed and long before the Court ruled. According to sources, the Town spent $29,225.45 on 2 signs for the Community Center. The closing date was May 1, although one sign was ordered on April 15.
The seemingly secret actions of the Town and staff’s decision to proceed with the purchase despite the fact that the aging facility is not ADA compliant and will require expensive upgrades, spurred a recall effort by OVCOG (Oro Valley Citizens for Open Government). Thousands of residents signed petitions to recall Vice-Mayor Lou Waters, and Councilmembers Mary Snider, Joe Hornat. Those petitions are expected to be approved by the Pima County Recorder soon. Recall petitions are also being circulated against Mayor Satish Hiremath.
As it stands, $8.3 M has been tentatively approved in the FY 15/16 budget for the golf course management and care as well as the Community Center. The Town Council approved a 1/2 cent sales tax increase for that purpose, but it is unlikely that the proceeds will cover the costs, according to sources. Recently, the Town Manager said he was considering putting a bond package before voters to cover what is expected to be mounting costs associated with the purchase.
Co-Chair of the TOOTHinOV referendum group, Shirl Lammona said, “I am saddened to learn that the Arizona Supreme Court chose to ignore the intent of the law concerning the referendum serial number. While TOOTHinOV exhausted all possible steps to ensure the voice of more than 3,000 Oro Valley residents would be heard, we lost the battle over the clerical error.”
Lammona concluded, “I would like to once again thank all the volunteers and those who offered words of encouragement during the past several months. Mere words cannot express my appreciation for your support.”
TOOTHinOV Co-Chair Debra Arrett stated, “While we may have lost the battle, we have not lost the war. The signatures on the petitions for a referendum that were thrown out due to a technical error are on the recall petitions for Mayor Satish Hiremath and Councilmembers Joe Hornat, Mary Snider and Lou Waters. There was not a referendum, but there will be recall elections. The voice of the Oro Valley voters will be heard.”
Oro Valley Councilman, Mike Zinkin, who stood firmly with the residents said, “It really is too bad that the Law cannot be flexible enough not to stand in the way of the will of the people. In officiating sports there is the “letter of the Law” and the “intent of the Law”. You probably will not call a hold on the right side of the line when the runner is around the left side and there is no way that hold affected the outcome of the play. In this case the intent of the People was clear….the “letter of the law” did not allow for that intent to be realized.”
Arizona’s Governor Doug Ducey signed a bill this year that makes recall and referendum efforts meet “strict compliance” standards. According to one legal expert, the bill essentially guarantees that citizen initiatives in the future will have little chance for success.