Honolulu anti-rail petition can't get on general election ballot, city says

[KamaAina]

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080716/NEWS09/807160399&referrer=FRONTPAGECAROUSEL

The top election official for Honolulu said yesterday the issue of whether to build a $3.7-billion rail system will not be on the November ballot regardless of how many signatures are collected in a petition drive.

City Clerk Denise De Costa said in a letter to Stop Rail Now — the group collecting signatures to put the issue to voters — that its petition needed to be submitted before May to make it on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.

"The city clerk is prohibited by charter from taking any action on a petition ... unless the petition is filed 180 days before a scheduled election," De Costa wrote in the letter.

The city "is trying to boot us off the ballot," said Stop Rail Now campaign manager Eric Ryan.

Gee, Eric, I hope the Waaaambulance! doesn't get stuck in all that traffic...



Meanwhile, the more conservative Star-Bulletin headlines their story "Initiative derailed by wording":

http://starbulletin.com/2008/07/16/news/story01.html

"The Charter prohibits the city clerk from acting upon an Initiative petition calling for a special election if an election is scheduled within 180 days of the submittal of the initiative petition," De Costa said in her letter to the Stop Rail attorney, John Carroll.

"The city clerk is prohibited by Charter from taking any action on a petition calling for a special election and the Office of the City Clerk will not accept for filing a petition calling for a special election," De Costa added.

Stop Rail Now, a nonprofit organization, has been collecting signatures since April to place a question on the ballot to adopt an ordinance that says, "Honolulu mass transit shall not include trains or rail," in an effort to stop Mayor Mufi Hannemann from building a planned 20-mile elevated system from Kapolei to Ala Moana....

In April, when Stop Rail announced the petition drive to put the question on the ballot, the City Clerk's Office said the citizen's group would need to have 44,535 verified signatures of registered voters by Aug. 1 for the issue to go on the ballot. Stop Rail says it has collected about 39,000 signatures so far.

39,000 people (including at least two who should have known better) signed this piece of garbage? Hoo boy. It would almost be better to have it on the general election ballot, when right-thinking people will be at the polls to vote for Obama, than a special election where only the anti-tax zealots will turn out. :scared:

P.S. Anti-rail attorney John Carroll was last seen in the spotlight serving as attorney for a group working against the rights of native Hawaiians!

[KamaAina]

1. Update: Now they're pushing for a special election, perhaps in May

This is all we need: a low-turnout special election in which the tax-haters get to whip people into an anti-rail frenzy, countered only by organized labor and its proven GOTV ability.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080717/NEWS09/807170358/1001

A vote on O'ahu's planned $3.7 billion rail transit system is possible, the city clerk said yesterday, just not as part of the general election on Nov. 4.

The issue could be decided in a special election at a later date and at a cost to taxpayers of $1.5 million to $2 million....

A special election would be "a needless waste of taxpayer dollars and would effectively force voters and taxpayers to wait until May 2009 at the earliest to be able to vote on the proposed heavy rail project," said Stop Rail Now attorney John Carroll in a letter to city clerk Denise C. De Costa.

Meanwhile Lt. Gov. James "Duke" Aiona (R-Naturally; Ed.) said the City Council should put the question on the general election ballot. "I'm calling upon the City Council again to be leaders of their county and place it on the (November) ballot," Aiona said.

In over seven years, I can't recall state government getting involved at this level in any other county issue. Aiona's boss, the somewhat less brain-dead Gov. Lingle, already said, for the record, she'd "likely" sign the petition. :eyes: