Listening to the arguments made by Mr. Richard Hannenmann this evening at the council meeting I feel that we should allow his petition, calling for the county to restore the original municipal building at its original location, to go to the voters. I trust the legal opinion of our County Attorney Randy Audio on these matters more than anyone else. Although there may be a valid argument for the petition being an illegal initiative under NM law, Council is not a court of law and I am not comfortable declaring the petition illegal. Only a court should decide the legality of this petition.
I agree with Mr. Hannenman that it is appropriate to move forward and have the election. If the voters approve the petition and an interested party wishes to challenge the legality of this initiative than after the election that party can seek a judgement in the appropriate court of law. Furthermore under these circumstances a clear legal conflict would exist and the court would be required to hear the case and render an opinion.
I feel that we have gone array on Council. We have an opportunity to rebuild trust between the Council and the community this evening by allowing the special election to take place. There is no better way to judge public opinion than by the voting that takes place on election day. At the very least this election will give us a clear indication of what the community wants with regards to a municipal building even if the result proves not to be legally binding. We should always welcome this kind of public input. We should give our citizens a chance to vote on this petition.
