
City of Camas and Clark County will be forced to verify the signatures collected on petition to put a utility tax on the ballot for a vote
Leah Anaya
For Clark County Today
On Thursday (March 2), the group Fix Camas was in front of Judge Randall Krog at the Skamania Superior Court regarding the first ever referendum in Camas, aptly dubbed Referendum 1. This is the petition that collected signatures from Camas residents to put a utility tax, which was narrowly passed by Camas City Council in November of 2022, on the ballot for a vote. Fix Camas filed Referendum 1 and then spent 30 days collecting signatures, ultimately surpassing the necessary amount of 2,730 and garnering 3,160.
The city of Camas and Clark County refused to verify the signatures, because, the clerk’s office said, the seven-page ordinance wasn’t attached to every petition sheet, which would have meant turning in an additional 2,100 pages. This, despite the same office having approved the receipt of the petition sheets when they were first turned in. Additionally, a Dec. 9 email to advocates with Fix Camas said that the signature sheets needed to be turned in by the required date but did not mention the need for each sheet to also have the ordinance attached to it at the time of submission.
Those 3,160 people who signed the petition received good news in the Skamania courthouse on Thursday, when the judge sided with Fix Camas. This means that the city and County will be forced to verify the signatures.
“The petitioner has shown by clear, cogent and convincing evidence that the city clerk statements in its December 9, 2022 email that petitioners signature pages are due is inconsistent with the city clerk’s statement dated January 11, 2023 letter that the petition with ordinance attached needed to be submitted,” Judge Krog said in his decision. “The petitioner would be injured if the submission required the ordinance to be attached as that statement did not even occur until after the time for submission had passed and the 30 days has now elapsed.”
The judge pointed out that it appears the city changed the requirements for submission, to include the ordinance attached to each signature page, after the signature sheets were submitted. Further, he said, “The city clerk’s duty is to verify the sufficiency of the signatures. The attachment of the ordinance to the petition signature pages at the time of the filing does not affect the ability of the city clerk to verify the sufficiency of the signatures presented.”
One of the lawyers who assisted in the case, Richard Stephens, said he was pleased with the outcome. “The Court protected the free speech rights of the people of Camas, which the city tried to silence,” Stephens said. “As a result of the case, Camas voters’ voices may be heard.”
Judge Krog clearly agreed with Stephens’ assessment that the case boiled down to freedom of speech. “We must be mindful that the referendum petition process involves a person’s first amendment right,” he said. “A signature on a referendum petition is an expression of a person’s political views and therefore implicates election process and his or her first amendment rights.”
The paperwork was originally turned in to the city and received a stamp of approval by Camas clerk and public records officer, Bernie Bacon on January 9. However, on January 13, signers of the petition received a letter from Bacon saying the petition was rejected by Clark County due to the aforementioned clerical issues. “The vote to approve this tax was not a consensus vote by our City Council,” reads the Fix Camas website. “The 4-3 split vote [in November] was made after many Camasonians from all walks of life came to the table, unified in opposition and delivering testimony about the impact this tax will have on them.” Bacon has since unexpectedly resigned from her position.
The Camas City Council also voted at the Jan. 17, 2023 Council meeting to revisit the issue of the tax after overwhelming opposition. Now that Jennifer Senescu has been appointed as a replacement for former Councilman Greg Anderson, who also unexpectedly resigned after his vote in favor of the utility tax, that subject can once again be brought up.
In addition to the added utility tax, which is projected to bring about $1 million for the city, a $30 million capital bond will also be on the August ballot to replace firehouses. At the January meeting, Councilmember Leslie Lewallen said, ”We are talking about a million dollars over the course of two years. Is that where we want to hang our hat…when we have a thirty-million-dollar bond coming up and some other big-ticket items?”
Also read:
- All happy and healthy after baby is delivered on side of I-205Brianna Kelly asked her husband to pull over because there was no time left anymore, so Justin, along with the help of a 9-1-1 dispatcher, delivered baby Aria on the side of I-205 last month.
- WA Attorney General: $42 million recovered from fraudulent unemployment claimsAn innovative legal effort has enabled Washington to recover $42 million originally paid out in fraudulent unemployment claims during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Over one-third of Democrats believe Americans have ‘too much freedom’Just over one-third of Democratic voters think Americans are too free, according to a poll released on Friday by RealClearPolitics.
- County parks beginning tree health and maintenance project at Pacific Community ParkThe Parks and Lands division of Clark County Public Works is beginning a project to improve tree health and address hazardous trees at Pacific Community Park.
- Harvest time in kitchen garden at Clark College’s McClaskey Culinary InstituteThe kitchen garden that wraps around three sides of the Tod and Maxine McClaskey Culinary Institute at Clark College is reaping a bountiful, colorful harvest for students to use in their recipes.
- Vancouver fire marshal lifts city’s recreational burning banDue to recent rains and anticipated cooler weather conditions, Vancouver Fire Marshal Heidi Scarpelli has lifted the recreational burning ban within the city of Vancouver, effective at 12:01 a.m. Saturday.
- POLL: Do you believe there needs to be structural changes in how governments are allowed to deal with situations such as a pandemic or health emergency?Do you believe there needs to be structural changes in how governments are allowed to deal with situations such as a pandemic or health emergency?
Thank you Leah Anaya for this excellent report!
The people of Camas are excited to know that the Judge protected their right to put this on the ballot.
And Kimsey was “overwhelmingly re-elected”. Wonder how that happened? Fortunately for the Cama people, at least ONE judge is honest.
Thanks for an accurate article. And thanks to Judge Randall Krog for validating the petition process as a fundamental right of the people.
Why did this petition need forced into a courtroom? The City Council would have demonstrated wisdom if they had responded to the petition as it was presented- and it was gathered and then provided consistent with instructions given by the City.
Separate topic: The Council is attempting to condemn 2 acres of land from a willing seller for less than five percent of appraised value. Does the Council even qualify as a “willing buyer”?
Might make a good article, contact the reporter. Is this the Camas City Council? Camas owns and buys so much property!!
A 2013 Vancouver city initiative petition asked for a public vote on the use of city resources to pay for light rail. The petition was circulated for over a year, and some signers mistakenly signed more than once. The Clark County Elections Department struck down the first signature AND any duplicates, canceling 606 signatures, leaving the petition short just 32 signatures.
Undeterred, 75 citizens filed suit against defendants Clark County Auditor Greg Kimsey and Clark County in Cowlitz County Superior Court. On April 17, 2013 the judge ruled in favor of citizens, the original signatures total was updated to 6,046, and the petition was certified since the number of signatures was sufficient when the original signatures were duly counted. Citizens presented the petition asking for a vote on the use of city resources for light rail to the Vancouver City Council. The Vancouver City Council majority ignored the people and voted 5-2 not to put the light rail question on the ballot. This past year, light rail was “chosen” by a few for a planned I-5 replacement bridge, in spite of 2 public votes against light rail in Clark County!
Kudos to this judge for examining the facts, and noting the change in requirements after the fact. Hopefully, the County Auditor/Elections department will now verify the signatures, and there will be enough valid signatures for Camas Referendum #1.