Initiative to kill light rail will be on August ballot
An initiative that could kill all future light rail in Phoenix will appear on the ballot in August, a judge ruled Friday.
The Arizona chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America filed a lawsuit in January attempting to get the Building a Better Phoenix initiative thrown off the ballot, citing concerns with the initiative language and how signatures were collected.
On Friday, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Sherry Stephens ruled that Building a Better Phoenix did not violate the law in its signature-gathering efforts.
The Arizona chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America can appeal the decision. The group did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
If voters approve the initiative, the city must stop all future rail spending and divert the funds to other transportation projects, such as street repairs and increased bus service.
The city’s portion of the money earmarked for light-rail extensions comes from a 35-year transportation plan funded by a sales tax increase voters approved in 2015.
“The most important thing is that Phoenix gets to decide whether they want to keep dumping money into this light rail project or fix up their streets in a way that will benefit more residents and commuters than these light rail boondoggles,” said Kory Langhofer, attorney for Building a Better Phoenix.
Court ruling
The contractors’ main legal argument was that the 100-word description of the initiative that was printed on petitions was misleading and could have confused signers.
Specifically, the group was concerned that the description:
❚ Did not point out that the initiative could affect current light-rail lines.
❚ Implied that all money that would have been spent on light rail would instead be spent on other transportation projects when actually only money collected by Phoenix through the transportation tax would be redirected to other projects — money that would have come from other sources (federal grants, countywide tax money, etc.) would not.
❚ Implied that the initiative would save the city money, when it actually just redirects the funds to other projects.
During oral arguments Wednesday, Building a Better Phoenix called pollster George Khalaf of Data Orbital to the stand.
Khalaf said that he conducted a poll and asked registered Phoenix voters whether their opinion on the initiative would have changed if he added information to the description that mirrored the contractors’ concerns. Khalaf said his poll found that there was no statistical change in voter opinion when they were provided with the new information.
Stephens in her ruling said the summary was adequate and complied with the law.
“As written, the summary does not create a significant danger of confusion or unfairness and communicates to potential signers the thrust of the measure,” she stated in the ruling.
The contractors also argued that the initiative should be thrown off the ballot because Building a Better Phoenix paid petition gatherers by the signature, which the contractors group argued was illegal under state law.
It is illegal to pay signature gatherers by the signature for statewide initiatives, but Stephens ruled that the law does not apply to city initiatives.
Should Phoenix continue to fund light rail? Reach the Phoenix reporter at 480-694-1823 or jessica.boehm@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @jboehm_NEWS.