Pasadena : Initiative Bid Falls Short

Initiative petitions submitted by a citizens group calling for an extensive overhaul of the city’s government do not contain enough valid signatures to qualify the measure for the June ballot, the Los Angeles County registrar’s office and City Clerk Pamela Swift have determined.

Of the 7,166 signatures submitted last week to the registrar’s office for verification, 5,352 were qualified, leaving the petitions 523 signatures short of the number needed. Further, on Monday Swift told the Board of City Directors that an additional 290 signatures were invalid because of defects in the petitions.

Citizens for Representative Government, which had circulated the petitions for months, said it has written to Swift asking for an audit of the signature verification process. “It doesn’t look good, but it’s possible that we could pull it out,” attorney Chris Sutton, who represents the group, said on Wednesday.

The petitions call for the elimination of the city manager’s position and for a directly elected mayor, city clerk and city attorney, positions which are now appointed.