An effort to place term limits on the November 2012 ballot failed after it was rejected Wednesday.
“It’s not a very good Christmas present,” said Councilman Dave Grosch who led the citizen's committee. “I’m not a very happy camper. We put a lot time and effort into this. We obviously didn't do our homework very well.”
The petition, which included about 3,400 signatures, was initially rejected on Monday because the committee failed to include a “Notice of Intent to Circulate Petition” and an “Initiative Measure to be Submitted Directly to the Voters” to each page of the petition.
Grosch resubmitted the petition on Tuesday, the deadline to place the initiative on the 2012 ballot, when he was notified of the error. However, it was again rejected on Wednesday with the City Clerk citing California Election Code 9030(a), which states a petition cannot be changed unless ordered to do so by the appropriate court.
Grosch said that he will sit down with committee members to discuss whether they will petition again in the next election cycle. If the committee decides to make another go at it, members will have to gather signatures again.
“A lot of good people spent many hours trying to get signatures,” he said. “I feel bad for them.”
Grosch has been vocal about his support of term limits since his council run in 2010. He formed a committee to petition for it after a proposed study was rejected by the City Council in February.
