EON files suit against city for ballot question approval
New Brunswick grassroots organization Empower Our Neighborhoods filed suit last week in the Middlesex County Superior Court against City Clerk Dan Torrisi.
The Order to Show was filed against Torrisi's Sept. 2 certification of community group Unite New Brunswick's petition to add another charter change question to November's ballot.
On Aug. 10, Hurley ruled Torrisi must honor EON's petition to have their question on the ballot to change the form of the city council to a hybrid system with six members elected by wards and three at large.
UNB's question asks to enlarge the current five-member, at-large city council to seven members, all elected at-large.
"It severely strains credibility for the city government to claim that they believe this is legal," said EON President Martha Guarnieri in a statement.
She argued that applicable statutes do not allow the two groups questions to appear on the same ballot.
City Spokesman Bill Bray said a later statute allows for a ballot with multiple charter change questions.
"It's the city's position that [40:69A-21] does not control, and the [later] statute itself says you can have more than one alternative and you can have conflicting alternatives," Bray said.
The group will contest their complaint on Friday, Sept. 18, and the city must show the reasoning for the certification of UNB's petition, Guarnieri said.
"When Judge Hurley gave a ruling about [our] ward case, he said two questions can't be on the ballot at once," she said.
Glenn Fleming, a member of UNB's City of Petitioners, said EON's actions are prohibiting the city's voters from choosing themselves.
"They claim they want democracy, but silencing outside voices is not democracy … Now, they're filing complaints, they want to leave it up to the court systems instead of letting people vote," Fleming said.
The clerk has denied EON's petition in the past, Guarnieri said.
"It's confusing to me why we get in so much trouble while this so-called grassroots organization does not," she said.
Guarnieri said Hurley is a fair and independent judge.
"But if he does rule against us, then there will be two questions on the ballot," she said.
Fleming said he is not worried about his group's petition with the courts.
"We'll be on the right side of this issue … Eventually, we'll prevail," Fleming said.
A public hearing is scheduled for the petition Wednesday at 5 p.m. in City Hall where the City Council will hear the public's arguments for and against UNB's petition.
Bray was unavailable for new comments as of press time.
