Agreement sought on referendum lawsuits

A scheduling conflict for plaintiff Maria “Bunny” Gamez caused a hearing on the first of two contested referendum petitions to be delayed. According to the Navajo County Superior Court Clerk’s Office, the attorneys agreed to move the hearing to May but no exact date was set.

However, Gamez’s attorney, John Moshier, said he and City Attorney Dale Patton reached a tentative compromise to drop the suit if the counsel for Wal-Mart agrees. Moshier had not heard from the company as of Monday.

Gamez filed three petitions in February to have a rezoning issue brought to a public vote. The first petition was directed toward the first reading of the ordinance. The second petition dealt with the passing of the ordinance. Gamez said the reason for the two petitions was because she wasn’t sure which action would be the trigger for a referendum.

The agreement between Moshier and Patton sets the trigger date as the City Council’s enactment of the ordinance on Feb. 22.

On March 25, City Clerk Suzy Wetzel denied the first of three petitions that Gamez filed. In a letter to Moshier, Patton wrote that the petition was invalid because it was filed against a first reading of the ordinance and not the enactment of it.

The city also denied the third petition — against amending the city’s General Plan to allow for the rezoning — because it lacked two exhibits that Patton said needed to be attached to the circulating petition. Gamez previously said she did not receive them from Wetzel.

Last week, Wetzel told the Winslow Mail that she offered Gamez the exhibits but Gamez rejected them because they were already attached to the second petition.

On April 4 and 8, Gamez filed suits against the city and Wetzel to force the city to forward the contested petitions to the County Recorder. Wal-Mart was named as an interested party in both complaints.

Moshier said he has already withdrawn the second of the lawsuits.

“We don’t need to have two questions on the ballot,” he said.

The second petition, filed against the enactment of the ordinance, was forwarded to the County Recorder’s Office to verify the signatures. The county could announce as soon as this week whether there were enough valid signatures to send the rezoning of 7.61 acres north of Mike’s Pike to a public vote.

Patton was not available to comment.

Donate to nhonews.com Report a Typo Contact
Most Read