PORT ANGELES — The city formally asked a Clallam County Superior Court judge on Monday to decide whether two citizen initiatives filed with the city on Sept. 8 are eligible to be put on the ballot.
The “declaratory judgment” seeks to have both the “Medical Independence Act” and the “Water Additives Safety Act” declared beyond the scope of the initiative power granted to Port Angeles residents on July 5.
The city’s action also seeks reimbursement of its court costs from the two ballot initiative committees that filed the measures.
Legal action against city
Meanwhile, supporters are seeking to have the city’s legal action dimissed and the two initiatives sent to the voters on the Nov. 7 ballot.
City Attorney Bill Bloor said the legal action was delivered to the city on Tuesday afternoon, but he hadn’t had an opportunity to review it and so couldn’t comment on it.
The City Council voted 6-0 with one absention at a Sept. 13 special meeting to seek the “declaratory judgment” against the two initiatives.
A decision could take up to six months, during which time the city’s fluoridation program will continue.
Bloor told the council at the Sept. 13 meeting that both initiatives raised some serious legal issues that deserve answers, such as whether they deal with “administrative” versus “legislative” actions.
Other potential legal issues include granting citizens property rights in the city water system, breach of the city’s contract with the Washington Dental Services Foundation and impairing operation of the city’s water system.
Two initiative petitions
Members of the ballot initiative committee Our Water — Our Choice! delivered 191 petition sheets containing an estimated 2,300 signatures to Port Angeles City Clerk Becky Upton on Sept. 8.
The petition seeks to have the Medical Independence Act either adopted by the City Council or put to a public vote.
The measure would prohibit medication of people through drinking water.