HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-16-2017 Item 12, JenkinsLaw Office of
STEWART D. JENKINS
044
Municipal Law, Estate Planning & Family Law
San Luis Obispo, California
May 15, 2017
J.Christine Dietrick,
City Attorney/Prosecutor
City of San Luis Obispo
990 Palm Street
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
RECEIVE
MAY 15 201"7
SLO CITY CLERk' i
COUNCIL MEETING:-
lTrMt NO,: I )L
Re: Agenda Discussion Item 12, call for a special election for the voters to decide upon
"AN INITIATIVE TO REPEAL CHAPTER 15.10 OF THE SAN LUIS OBISPO
MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED `RENTAL HOUSING INSPECTION' AND TO ADOPT
NEW CHAPTER 15.10 ENTITLED `NON-DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING."
Violation of'Elections Code nestled in the proposed resolution calling that election.
Dear Ms. Dietrick:
I am duty bound to point out, before the City Council is duped into a violation of the
Cali Fornia Elections Code, that Section 1 (appearing on agenda packed pages 245 and 246
violates §§ 301, 9203, 9210, 9214 (b).
Elect.C. § 301(c) defines a ballot as being a sheet "of paper upon which are printed
the naives of candidates and the ballot titles of measures to be voted on by marking the
designated area ..."
The ballot title was prepared by your office pursuant to Elect.C. § 9203 prior to the
initiative petition being printed. Elect.C. § 9205 required the proponents to publish their
notice of intention to circulate, along with your title and summary of the proposed measure
prepared by your office; which was done. Under Elect.C. § 9204, any elector, including any
of the current members of the City Council, could have sought an expedited writ of mandate
to amend that ballot title. However, a Court is specifically limited, such that it cannot issue
an order to amend unless it found that the ballot title was false, misleading or inconsistent
with Elect.C. § 9203. No one filed a petition for such a writ, and no order was ever issued to
amend the ballot title. We presume the ballot title was and is accurate as originally prepared.
Once the petition is filed, "no petition section shall be amended except by order of
a court ...." Elect.C. § 9210.
The petition was submitted to the honorable Clerk of the city on the afternoon of
February 16, 2017 – yes, before the council's scheduled evening workshop to discuss the
rental inspection ordinance and ways that it could be improved. Note, nothing in the agenda
for that evening workshop mentioned repeal.
The honorable Clerk's notice on February 21, 2017, indicated that her preliminary
examination found that 7,111 signatures had been presented, which prima facie exceeded the
3,918 needed to trigger a special election. The Clerk declared the petition had been filed
effective February 16, 2017.
This set the rights of the voters, the proponents and the city as to the petition, the text
of the measure, and the ballot title, as they existed on February 16, 2017.
Having failed to adopt the ordinance proposed by the 7,111 signators to the initiative
petition, the council now proposes to order a special election. Pursuant to Elect.C. § 9214(b)
the council must submit the initiative proposed ordinance, without alteration, to a vote of
the voters of the city. Without alteration, includes the ballot title which your office prepared
as part of the initiative measure, pursuant to your own duty to prepare an accurate title upon
which the voters could depend, which reads as follows:
AN INITIATIVE TO REPEAL CHAPTER 15.10 OF THE SAN LUIS OBISPO
MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED "RENTAL HOUSING INSPECTION" AND TO
ADOPT NEW CHAPTER 15.10 ENTITLED "NON-DISCRIMINATION IN
HOUSING"
But, the resolution to set the election, if adopted, would significantly change the ballot
title. Setting forth the variation demonstrates the way the unlawful changes are designed to
mislead voters:
Shall an ordinance be adopted to re lace,A-N-iN1T-1"T!N FSO_-R"Fn L CHAPTER
15.10 OF THE SAN LUIS OBISPO MUNICIPAL CODE which was previously
ENTITLED "RENTAL HOUSING INSPECTION", but was revealed by the City Council
on April 20 2017 with AND` "11)04 -NEW CHAPTER 15.10 to be ENTITLED
"NON-DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING"
The initiative filed February 16"', and qualified for adoption or for a special election
March 13"', well before any repeal. The manipulation of subsequent quick repeal, Followed
by illegally changing the ballot title, is transparently designed to prevent voters From putting
rental inspection into a lock box under their control.
2
The voters overwhelmingly signed the petition with your original ballot title. To
comply with the law, please take immediate steps to contact the city council members and
mayor in order to restore unto Section 1 of the proposed resolution, at the top of page 246 in
the council agenda packet, the following ballot title:
AN INITIATIVE TO REPEAL CHAPTER 15.10 OF THE SAN LUIS
OBISPO MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED "RENTAL HOUSING YES
INSPECTION" AND TO ADOPT NEW CHAPTER 15.10 ENTITLED
"NON-DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING"
AN INITIATIVE TO REPEAL CHAPTER 15.10 OF THE SAN LUIS
OBISPO MUNICIPAL CODE ENTITLED "RENTAL HOUSING NO
INSPECTION" AND TO ADOPT NEW CHAPTER 15.10 ENTITLED
"NON-DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING"
I look forward to the council complying with voters' rights under the Elections Code.
�f
Stew Jenkin,_
.-
C: Mayor Harmon,
Council Members Pease, Rivoire, Christianson, and Gomez
Clerk Gallagher