Resident wants veto power over NB City Council
Published 1:38 pm Thursday, October 2, 2008
NORTH BEND – The way the city of North Bend passes some laws may change if a local man has his way.
Dave Cook announced last week that he is starting an effort to enact the powers of initiative and referendum in the city. If he succeeds, some ordinances passed by the City Council could be repealed by a vote of the public.
“Different people have different things they would like the city to focus on,” Cook said. “The consensus to me seems to be that their [the council’s] priorities are not the same as the public’s.”
According to the King County Records and Elections Division, in order to get the initiative and referendum process approved, Cook must do one of two things. The first is to gather at least 502 valid signatures – half of the registered voters in North Bend who voted at the last general election – from people living within the city limits of North Bend. If he is able to gather enough signatures, he would submit them to the city, which would then give them to the county.
The county would certify the signatures and then give them back to the city. At that point the city then must adopt the law. The law could go to a vote, however, if a referendum with 150 valid signatures against it is gathered within 90 days once it is adopted by the city.
The second option is to gather just 100 signatures – which is 10 percent of the registered voters in North Bend who voted in the last general election – and go through a similar process. But rather than the City Council having the option of adopting the law, it would automatically be put to a vote.
An initiative involves the public petitioning the City Council to consider a law, while a referendum is a petition asking council members to reject a law they passed.
Both initiatives and referendums would require valid signatures from at least 15 percent of the registered voters in North Bend. If that requirement is met, the City Council can either pass an ordinance on the initiative within 20 days or submit it to a vote of the people.
For a referendum, the City Council would have 20 days to repeal the ordinance addressed by the referendum or put it before a vote.
Eastside cities that have an initiative and referendum law include Mercer Island and Issaquah.
Although the initiative and referendum law covers a variety of ordinances, there are legislative powers that are exempt, such as motions, orders and resolutions. Some ordinances are also exempt, such as those that appropriate money, establish utility rates and modify zoning codes.
The city’s inattentive driving ordinance and proposed cell-phone ban, however, would not be exempt. Cook said North Bend’s recent ordinances and debates about limiting the use of cell phones instigated his desire to pass the initiative and referendum law.
“I have yet to meet one person who thinks that the cell-phone ordinance is a good idea,” he said.
Councilman Ed Carlson, who developed the cell-phone ordinance, said he is a little dismayed by the move.
“I don’t remember Mr. Cook ever showing up at a council meeting or work study; certainly not at any time when he has identified himself, which he would have to do if he was going to speak,” Carlson said. “I’m amazed at his sudden interest in civic affairs.”
Councilman Jack Webber said that while the new law may encourage public participation in the civic process, he still has reservations about how prudent establishing the new powers would be until it is studied thoroughly. Since it seems to be aimed at a particular ordinance, he wondered if some larger issues should be addressed first.
“Establishing an initiative and referendum process in North Bend may have some merit in providing yet another opportunity for citizens to have additional input,” Webber wrote after hearing about the petition. “The new idea appears to me, on the thin surface, to offer a rather short-term and simplified approach to handling the symptoms of what apparently is perceived by some citizens to be a larger political problem.”
