San Diego, CA. – The City Attorney’s emergency petition to keep SoccerCity and SDSU West off the November ballot has been denied by the Fourth District Court Of Appeal.
Justices Patricia Benke, Richard Huffman, and Joan Irion declined to rule on the issues raised by the City Attorney’s office.
The City's assertion that it will have to spend taxpayer money to place the SDSU West Initiative on the ballot is not substantial enough to prevent the Initiative from going before the electorate. The petition is DENIEDFourth District Court Of Appeal
The Justices wrote, “given the substantial public interest involved, we decline to eliminate the right of the public to express its views on the competing initiatives. There is an important public interest ‘in protecting the fundamental right of the people to propose statutory or constitutional changes through the initiative process.'”
The City Attorney raised concerns that the costs to put the initiatives on the ballot would be significant to taxpayers. The Court disagreed, “The City’s assertion that it will have to spend taxpayer money to place the SDSU West Initiative on the ballot is not substantial enough to prevent the Initiative from going before the electorate. The petition is DENIED.”
City Attorney Responds
IVN San Diego reached out to the City Attorney’s office for reaction to the decision.
We did everything we could to lift the cloud of legal uncertainty over these measures so San Diego voters could participate with confidence in a decision that will impact us for generations.City Attorney Statement
Communications Director Hilary Nemchik sent the following statement, “We did everything we could to lift the cloud of legal uncertainty over these measures so San Diego voters could participate with confidence in a decision that will impact us for generations.”
California Cities Backed Effort
Last week City Attorney Mara Elliott sent out a release reading the League of California Cities backed the push to prevent SoccerCity and SDSU West from appearing on the November ballot.
The League said the San Diego measures were “invalid” under state law in the opinion of its Legal Advisory Committee. The committee, composed of 24 city attorneys from around the state, monitors litigation and identifies the cases of statewide significance.