Voters Might Have Last Say on Raiders’ Return Home

Oakland city officials sought Wednesday to squelch efforts to organize a popular referendum on the $660-million offer to the Los Angeles Raiders to move to the city.

City Atty. Jayne Williams said the City Council had acted “administratively” Monday night when it approved the proposed deal, and not “legislatively.” Therefore, Williams said in a legal opinion, opponents of the project could not petition for a referendum.

Frank Russo, a former Alameda County Democratic Party chairman who has been exploring the possibility of securing the 19,000 petition signatures necessary to force a referendum, promptly said he would challenge Williams’ reasoning. Williams said the matter could end up in court.

As opposition to the Raiders offer boiled in Oakland, where a recent poll indicated that 59% of residents viewed soliciting the Raiders’ return as “not important,” Gov. George Deukmejian told a press conference in Sacramento, “I just hope that the city of Oakland doesn’t have any requests for any state funding coming along.”

He was suggesting that if Oakland can afford such an expensive deal to attract the Raiders, it does not need state help in other areas. When asked if he was serious and would look unfavorably on any future requests for money from Oakland or Alameda County , the governor paused and then declared firmly, “You got it.”

Meanwhile Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley said he has been “driven by optimism” all his life and so still harbors hope the Raiders deal with Oakland may fall through. But, Bradley added, he is also a realist, so he plans to meet today with his Committee to Support Professional Football to discuss organizing a drive to secure a new team.

Bradley said he suspects that it might only take 10 or 12 days for Oakland to sign a final agreement with the Raiders, but he also noted that team owner Al Davis had once vowed to move to Irwindale and also talked of moving to Sacramento, only to adopt other alternatives. “It’s not over until it’s signed,” the mayor said.

Times Sacramento Bureau Chief George Skelton contributed to this story.