Signing up for the great initiative debate

Alex Coolman

NEWPORT BEACH -- One of the most mundane aspects of the democratic

process -- signature gathering -- has turned controversial in recent

weeks as political opponents trade accusations about the manner in which

citizens are asked to put pen to paper.

Proponents of a measure to make Newport Beach’s Traffic Phasing Ordinance

-- a law requiring developers to pay for road improvements to prevent

traffic congestion -- part of the City Charter are racing to gather

enough signatures to get the proposal on the November ballot.

As they do so, they say, they are being harassed by their political

opponents, backers of the Greenlight Initiative, which is already on the

ballot.

Greenlight backers, in turn, are charging that professional signature

gatherers are giving out incorrect information about the new initiative.

The Greenlight measure would require all developments that need “major”

general plan amendments to be approved by voters.Both sides concede that

the issues involved -- growth and traffic -- are confusing, but they’re

equally certain that their solution to the city’s problems is the right

one. Their clashing perspectives have turned the blank page of a petition

sheet into a battleground.

Citizens for Traffic Solutions, the group trying to get its measure on

the ballot, needs to collect more than 10,000 signatures in order to come

up with the 7,000 valid voter names necessary for the measure to qualify.

The deadline for the collection effort, which has only been going on for

about a month, is June 15. Former Newport Beach Mayor Clarence Turner,

one of the organizers of the group, said he puts a “guess” about the

number of signatures already collected in the 3,500 range.

Some supporters of the Protect from Traffic and Density -- or so-called

Greenlight -- initiative say they object to the way Citizens for Traffic

Solutions is collecting signatures.

Corona del Mar resident Joan Rowland said she was told by a petitioner at

Gelson’s Market that the new measure was “the same thing” as Greenlight.

“They’re absolutely misrepresenting what they’re doing,” Rowland said.

Turner said he thinks it’s quite possible that “people [collecting

signatures] may have been saying things that are incorrect,” but said he

was trying to make sure that this stopped happening.

“To the extent that I can, I want to make sure our people are saying the

correct thing,” he said.

Turner said that because the initiative is intended to counter

Greenlight, his group is legally required to have a copy of the

Greenlight initiative displayed along with its petition. That may be one

of the sources of confusion, he said.

Citizens for Traffic Solutions has also charged Greenlight supporters of

obstructing its ability to collect signatures by arguing with collectors

and citizens outside of stores.

But Turner conceded that “that kind of goes with the territory” in the

initiative game.

If enough signatures are validated by the Orange County Registrar by the

June 5 deadline, both groups will further duke out their differences in

the November election.