Greek Theatre Ballot Drive Appears Successful

Organizers of a referendum drive seeking a ballot measure to overturn a Los Angeles city contract for the Greek Theatre have been told their efforts might have paid off: It appears they have collected enough voters’ signatures to qualify for the ballot.

But the head of the city’s elections division cautioned that her office has not completed verification of the signatures, so a final determination still is days away.

Attorneys representing the Universal House of Blues said they were pleased that their signature campaign appears to have been successful. House of Blues, which is seeking to have the contract overturned, paid professional signature-gatherers over three weeks to meet the 41,000-signature requirement.

The City Council approved a five-year contract extension last month for the current, politically well-connected operator of the Greek Theatre. But House of Blues has argued that the process was illegal and that the contract should have been open to competitive bidding. Aside from seeking the referendum, House of Blues also has sued the city for illegally awarding the contract.

“I think clearly the public understands that this contract should go out to competitive bid,” said George Mihlsten, a lobbyist and lawyer representing House of Blues. “This is about making sure the city and the community get the best deal.”

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge David Yaffe scheduled a hearing in March to discuss the referendum. News that there appeared to be enough signatures to qualify the ballot measure came Tuesday during a hearing in Yaffe’s court.