HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/18/1991 Meeting
e M I NUT E S
Eugene City Council
Council Chamber--City Hall
November 18, 1991
Noon
COUNCILORS PRESENT: Roger Rutan, Shawn Boles, Kaye Robinette, Paul Nicholson,
Bobby Green, Ruth Bascom.
COUNCILORS ABSENT: Debra Ehrman, Randy MacDonald, Mayor Jeff Miller.
The special meeting of the Eugene City Council of November 18, 1991, was
called to order by Council President Roger Rutan.
1. APPEAL OF BALLOT TITLE, MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENT
There was no objection to Mr. Rutan's suggested procedure for conducting the
appeal of the ballot title as follows: 1) statement from the appellant;
2) response from City Attorney and staff; 3) council discussion commenced
upon a motion.
e A. Statement from the Appellant
Dave Sweet, 75 East 39th Pl~ce, representing Oregonians for a New Eugene
(ONE), quoted Mahatma Ghandi, "A leader should never waste an atom of energy
in resentment." Mr. Sweet said he believed that the citizens of Eugene do
not hold resentment for the current form of Eugene's municipal government.
He said he held the council accountable for allowing the City Manager "to be
oppressing the citizens of Eugene," and believed that the citizens of Eugene
deserved a better administration by electing their chief administrator. He
said that the ballot title prepared by the City Attorney was biased and un-
representative of the initiative he filed. He accused the City Attorney of
being a "shyster" and having a conflict of interest. He noted that he con-
tacted the Secretary of State's Office regarding the City Attorney's poten-
tial conflict of interest. He questioned how a fair process could occur if
the City Attorney's Office, which he claimed was recently added as a defen-
dant in a lawsuit filed against the City, prepares a ballot title for a rep-
resentative of the plaintiffs of that lawsuit. He said that he filed a new,
revised initiative November 14 and gave a copy of the revised initiative to
the Public Service Officer. He tore up a copy of the first initiative and
indicated that signatures would not be collected for that initiative. He
said that the revised initiative addresses the City Attorney's concerns re-
garding the first initiative's potential unconstitutionality. He suggested
that the City obtain a different attorney.
e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 18, 1991 Page 1
e B. Response from the City Attorney
City Attorney Bill Gary explained that subsequent to Mr. Sweet's filing of
the appeal of the ballot title, Mr. Sweet had filed a second initiative peti-
tion which was similar to the first one but different in significant re-
spects. Mr. Gary said the ballot title for the second initiative would be
filed with the City Recorder by 5 p.m. on November 19. Mr. Gary said he
understood that Mr. Sweet had effectively withdrawn his first initiative
during his testimony and that since the initial petition had been withdrawn,
proceeding with this appeal was not necessary.
Mr. Rutan asked Mr. Sweet whether he wanted the council to proceed with con-
sidering the appeal. Mr. Sweet indicated that he would like the council to
proceed.
Mr. Robinette said he understood that Mr. Sweet withdrew his first initiative
by stating that he would not circulate the first petition for signatures.
Mr. Nicholson concurred with Mr. Robinette.
Mr. Robinette moved, seconded by Ms. Bascom, to deny the ap-
peal. Roll call vote; the motion passed 4:1, with Councilor
Green voting against.
Mr. Green apologized to the council for misunderstanding the motion and stat-
ed that he did not support the appeal. By consent of the council, Mr.
Green's vote was reversed so that the motion was passed unanimously, 5:0.
e
II. OTHER
Mr. Rutan announced that he requested a discussion on the revisions to the
Lane County Regional Air Pollution Authority (LRAPA) wood stove ordinance be
placed on the agenda for the council's December 2 meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 12:23 p.m.
Respectfully sUbm~,
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Micheal Gleason,
City Manager
(Recorded by David Straub)
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e MINUTES--Eugene City Council November 18, 1991 Page 2