DEVELOPING: Judge Invalidates Part Of Glendale Agreement, Referendum On The Clock

((HT: AZRepublic/Halverstadt, The Glendale Star/Dryer))

Lisa Halverstadt of the Republic is, probably, giving all of us the first salvo that could spell the end of the Coyotes in Phoenix.

Maricopa County ((AZ)) Superior Court Judge Dean Fink invalidated one section of Glendale City Council's lease agreement with Greg Jamison. Judge Fink requested the not reflect that it was not passed as an emergency order. In theory, the vote could have been put up as a referendum and it wasn't...

"There was a request that I invalidate the entire ordinance. I'm only willing to say section 7 is inoperable," Fink said.

Immediately after the hearing, Glendale resident Joe Cobb, represented by the Goldwater Institute, said he plans to start collecting signatures Wednesday for a referendum. The referendum needs 1,862 valid signatures within 30 days of passage of the ordinance. It needs to be validated by July 5th, according to FOSG Fred Poulin and his Twitter feed...

To clarify, from Dryer's article...

To qualify for a referendum on the November ballot, (Owner/Manager of Sanderson Ford, David) Kimmerle’s group needs to gather 1,862 signatures and turn in enough valid petitions by July 5 to be placed on the city’s November ballot. But the referendum action cannot legally start until the council takes action, and that is not scheduled to occur – by law – until June 26.

Arizona Revised Statute 19-142 requires a referendum petition to be filed with the city clerk within 30 days after passage of the ordinance, resolution or franchise. In this instance, the city council is expected to approve the increased taxes June 26, which gives Kimmerle’s group until July 26 to turn in petitions to the city clerk.

However, to qualify for a referendum on the November ballot (by state law, four months before the general election), Kimmerle’s group needs to gather 1,862 signatures and turn in enough valid petitions by July 5 to be placed on the city’s November ballot. The 1,862 figure is 10 percent of the qualified electors in the city’s 2008 mayoral race – 18,620.

Here's the court battle, thanks to our friends at 12News...