Press Release

Kansas City Peace Planters

August 26, 2011

Contact: 

Rachel M. MacNair, Ph.D. (Plaintiff in the lawsuit), Phone: (816)753-2057

Ann Suellentrop, (913)271-7925

  

At its regular legislative session August 25, the City Council voted (with only one dissenter) to keep the initiative petition entitled "Production of Nuclear Weapons Components Prohibited" off the ballot. Accordingly, we are filing today with the court for a Writ of Mandamus to safeguard our rights as citizens according to the City Charter to have it put on the November 8 ballot. 

 

All legal requirements were met:

May 12 - almost 5,000 Kansas City Missouri signatures turned in

May 26 - official verification of sufficient number of signatures: 4,389 verified when 3,572 were required

June 16 - as expected, City Council voted against an ordinance based on the petition; this is a required part of the process to be done before placing a measure on the ballot

June 24 - petitioners file the request with the Clerk that requires the measure be put on the ballot

 

The Council has had two full months for the Charter's requirement of passing an ordinance directing the Election Board to place the measure on the ballot. The deadline for certification for the November 8 ballot is August 30. Waiting until the last possible time allows the court only five days, two of which are a weekend, to consider the case. While the letter of the law is fulfilled in the timing, the spirit of democracy and proper deliberation is not. We believe this timing is an unfair power play. 

 

Today's ordinance to keep the measure off the ballot claims that the measure is unconstitutional -- but the City Charter is the constitution of the city, and its terms are being violated by this action. The Charter clearly states that initiatives with sufficient signatures shall be placed on the ballot at the next available election. 

 

The reason that it is the courts who are charged with the duty of determining constitutionality of any laws passed is that they have hearings in which both sides present their cases, being listened to by people well trained in the legal precedents and previous arguments. If councilmembers had a sincere concern on the question of constitutionality, the proper procedure would have been to ask the court for a Declaratory Judgment. If a party to a dispute can decide the dispute in its own favor while ignoring its own Charter, then the very purpose of the initiative petition process in upholding democracy is being sabotaged