Jump to full article: Salina (KS) Journal, 2009-06-18
Author: DAVID CLOUSTON Salina Journal
Intro: Opponents of Salina's clean indoor air ordinance have come up significantly short of the signatures they needed on a petition seeking a special election to repeal the ordinance.
Although the opponents claimed to have gathered 2,150 signatures, the Saline County Clerk's office counted only 1,757 signatures on the 90 pages of petitions that were turned in June 9 by Gary Swartzendruber and Beth Owens.
Opponents were seeking to force a vote to repeal the ordinance, which took effect May 2. The ordinance bans smoking in nearly all public places, including bars, private clubs and bingo parlors.
Of the 1,757 signatures on the petitions, workers in the county clerk's office could verify that only 994 belonged to registered voters living in Salina -- well short of the 1,390 required to trigger a special election . . .
Some ban opponents have expressed their desire to keep circulating petitions for repeal of the ordinance as often as every six months, if need be, until they reach the number of signatures necessary or city commissioners repeal the ordinance, Swartzendruber said.
But they should consider the staff time and its cost to the county, he said. He estimated that with 150 hours invested in verifying the signatures, the cost could reach as high as several thousand dollars.
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