Santa Ana : Drive to Alter Election Law Short of Signatures

A citizens’ group calling for a June ballot on proposed changes in city government fell far short of its goal in gathering signatures last weekend, but leaders said they would submit their petitions to the city today.

Jim Lowman, spokesman for Santa Ana Merged Society of Neighbors (SAMSON), said the group had collected only about 6,600 signatures by Tuesday morning, short of their hoped-for minimum of 7,200 names. At least 6,372 valid voters’ signatures are required before the council must put a proposition before the city’s voters. The group had sought to have a greater cushion of signers because scores of names are usually rejected during the validation process conducted by the city clerk’s office.

The group is trying to get the signatures counted and action taken by the City Council by March 7, which is the deadline for the city to notify county election officials that it has a measure to go on the June ballot.

SAMSON’S proposed changes in the city’s structure call for a directly-elected mayor and council members elected by voters in each district, rather than at-large.

The group’s members say they want the changes put on the June ballot so that voters could approve the initiative and force elections in November under those guidelines. The council is only required to put a proposition on the next regularly scheduled municipal ballot, which would be in November. Changes, if approved at that time, would not go into effect until the November, 1988, election.

Lowman said he believes that sunny weather Saturday and Sunday actually worked against the group, which had hoped to collect about 10,000 signatures. “We all prayed for good weather and God gave us an overkill,” he said. “Nobody was home. We would have done better to go down to the beach to find Santa Ana residents,” he said.

In addition, the group had hoped for about 4,000 signatures from a Latino residents organization, Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, Lowman said. However, the organization fell about 3,600 signatures short of that goal, he said. Hermandad spokesman Nativo Lopez couldn’t be reached for comment Tuesday.