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Home My WebLink AboutDISQUALIFICATION OF PETITION LETTERDELORIS "BOBBIE" PRINCE, MAYOR JACK C'_IATMAN, JR., MAYOR PRO TEM COUNCIL MEMBERS: ELIZABETH "LIZ" SEGLER MORRIS ALBRIGHT, III MARTIN FLOOD JOHN BEARD, JR. ROBERT E. WILLIAMSON D. KAY WISE THOMAS J. HENDERSON City of 1 ort~rthu Texas MR. WILLIE LEWIS, JR., 2301 LAKESHORE DRIVE PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS 77640 Dear Mr. Lewis: STEPHEN FITZGIB'~BONS CITY MANAGER TERRI HANKS ACTING CI7CY SECRETARY MARK T. SOKOLOW C][TY ATTORNEY March 12, 2009 The City Secretary's Office has examined 193 pages of the petition or petitions submitted on March 9, 2009. This letter shall serve as notice that the petition or petitions for charter amendments have beers declared insufficient based on the following reasons: The "Petition for Charter Amendments" states: "Pursuant to Section 9.004 Local ~overnm~ent Code, we the following qualified voters of the City of Port Arthur herein petition the City Council of fhe City of Port Arthur to onager an election as to submit fhe attached Charter Amendments to the City's qualifiE~d voters for their approval at a November 4, 2008 Special Election." The November 4, 2008 Uniform Election date was held last year and it is, therefore, irn ossible to comply with your request. Local Government Code, Chapter 9, Home-Rule Municipality, Section 9.004, Charter Amendments, (a) The governing body of a municipality on its own motion may submit a proposed charter amE:ndment to the municipality's qualified voters for their approval at an election. The governing body shall submit: a proposed chartE:r amendment to the voters for their approval at an election if the subnnission is supported by a petition signed by a number of qualified voters of the municipality equal to at least five percent of the number of qualified voters of the municipality or 20,000, whichever is the smaller. On March 11,X109, Jefferson County Voter's Registrar produced a total of weekly registrants. City of Port Arthur precincts and registration numbers were prepared in a spreadsheet (enclo;sed). Tl~e spreadsheet reveals a total of 30,421 total registered voters in the City of Port Arthur. Five percent (5%) of the 30,421 registered is 1,521signatures. The petition submitted March 9, 2009 contained a total of 1,227 signatures. The petition does not contain the adequate number of signatures. P.O. BOX 1089 • PORT ARTHUR, TEXAS 77841-1089.409/983-8115 • FAX 409/983-8291 Mr.1Nillie Lewis, Jr. March 12, 2009 Page 2 3. Texas Election Code, Title 16, Miscellaneous Provisions, Chapter 277, Petition Prescribed by Lavu Outside Code, Section 277.002, Validity of Petition Signatures, Subsection (3), A petition signature is invalid if the signer signed the petition earlier than the 180th before the date the petition is filed. September 9, 2008 is the 180th date before the petition was filed. Of the 1,227 signatures that were received, 66 signatures did not qualify because there was no date of signature. Of the 1,227 signatures that were received, 762 signatures did not qualify because the signature wars prior to the 180th date, being September 9, 2008. A total of 828 signatures are not valid under Texas Election Code, Section 277.002 If any additional clarification is needed, please contact the City Secretary's Office. Sincerely, .G~~ Terri Hanks, TRMC City Secretary Enclosures c: Mayor Deloris Prince Mayor Pro Tem Jack Chatman, Jr. Councilmember Elizabeth Segler Councilmember Morris Albright, III Councilmember Martin Flood Councilmember John Beard, Jr. Councilmember Robert E. Williamson Councilmember IDawana K. Wise Councilmember'Thomas J. Henderson City Manager Steve Fitzgibbons City Attorney Mark Sokolov J.. t~ .. 1 u, _ PETITION FOR CHARTER AMENDMENTS Pursuaht to Section 9.004 Local Government Code, we the following qualified voters of the City of Port Arthur herein petition the City Council of the City of Port Arthur to order an election as to submit the attached Charter Amendments to the City's qualified voters for their apprq,ZCal at a November 4, 2008 Special Election PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT Shall Section lA of Article II of the City Charter be amended to state the following: "Section lA. Two At Large Council Positions Council Positions now known as Council Positions 7 and 8 shall hereafter be designated Council Positions At Large and shall each be for an initial term of two (2) years beginning May 2009 and thereafter. These positions shall be voted orc as one race by all voters of the City. Each voter shall be e:ntitleci to cast two votes. A voter may not cast more than one: vote ._ _ per candidate. If a voter casts more than two (2) votes, the voters ballot shall be void and none of such voter's rotes may be counted in that election. The two candidates receiving tl:le most votes shall be elected to these positions. This provision supersedes any conflicting portion of the City Charter in relation to the election of the two At Large Council Positions." PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT Shall Section 1B be added to Article II of the City Charter: "Section 1B Residency for the two At Large Council Po;~itions The Candidates and the Councilmembers for the At Large Council Positions may reside in any district in the City. This provision supersedes any conflicting portion of the City Charter in relation to the election of the two At Large Council Positions." PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT PROPOSITION: Sha11 the last line of Section 1 of Article II of the City Charter be amended to state the following: Neither the Mayor nor any Councilmember shall serve more than three (3) consecutive terms in the same position. PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT PROPOSITION: Shall Section 4 of Article II of the City Charter be amended to read as follows: "Section 4. Vacancies. ~ Vacancies in the Council arising from any cause must be filled at a Special Election called for that purpose on an election date as authorized by state law. Vacancies in the Council arising from any cause as to positions that have two year terms shall be filled a:charter amendment_lewis_revised_legal Page 1 of 2 ~~ j; , by a majority vote of the remaining members until the Special Election. All persons appointed to fill a vacancy in th.e Council shall possess all qualifications required for the office:." Printed Name Date of Birth: oter Reg tration No. County of R'egistratl Residence Address: Date of Signing: Signature: Printed Name: - Date of Birth: (o Voter Registration No County of Registration. Residence Address: Date of Signing: , Signatur - Printed Name: - Date of Birth: (or) Voter Registration No. Voter Registration No.: Residence Address: Date of Signing: Signature: - Printed Name: Date of Birth: (or) Voter Registration No. County of Registration: - Residence Address: Date of Signing: - Signature: Printed Name: Date of Birth: (or) Voter Registration No. County. of Registration: Residence Address: Date of Signing: Signature: Printed Name: Date of Birth: (or) Voter Registration No. County of Registration: - - Residence Address; Date of Signing: Signature: Printed Name: Date of 2iirth: (or) Voter Registration No. County of Registration: Residence Address: - Date of signing: - Signature: ' VERIFICATION AS TO FOUR PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS STATE OE' TEYAS g COUNTY OF SEFFEASON § Pursuant to Section 3, Article Iv of the City Charter, I, _, am a signer of saidrPet ir. ion and am a qualified voter of the City of Port Arthur. I herein swear that the sga'[ements made in this Petition are true, that the petition papers were complete in all respects when signed, that each signature to the paper appended is the genuine signature of the person whose name purports co t~~ signed thereto and that such signatures were placed thereon in my presence. SIGNED AND SWORN TO beEOre me on Chia day of 2008. (seal) ~~, `~ ~~` NOTARY PUBLIC - STATE OF TEXA. a:charter ~ameDdment_Lewis_revised_legal Paue 2 of URGENT ~~` November '08 Charter Chan e g Petitlo~tz The Port Arthur City Council has 9 members chosen the registered voters of the city from 6 di ~ ~y the mayor and 2 at-large members. strlcts, along with You must live in District 5 (Districts .4 & 1 to run fo . Large .positiion #7, or District 6 ) r ~~t- (Dlstrlcts 2 & 3) to run :for At-Large position #8. "At-large" means "city wide"...any~,~;here in the wholE, city. . But in Port Arthur, you can vote for an office that ou can't run fort y You can~vote for the mayor, and the two at-lar e ositio:ns but you can pnly run for one of the at-lar a sea P of where ou live. Wh ??? g is because Y ~ ~ CHARTER M Y BECAUSE THE CITY AKES IT SO. Your help is needed to fix this problem. Please sign this petition calling for a Special Charter Change Election to make Positions 7 & 8 truly AT-LARGE! IF YO U CAN VOTE FOR IT, YO U SHO ULD BE ABLE TO R UN FOR IT! Thank-you for your support! ! ! The Charter Change Petition Team Any church, club groups/organizations who want to sign the petition, please contact 718-0586 or 626-1179. TOTAL NUMBER ~°~ REGISTERED VOTERS JEFFERSON COUNTl ~ORT ARTHUR PRECINCTS DATED MARCH 11, 2009 PRECINCT SUSPENSE NONSUSPENSE TOTAL 32 59 298 357 33 137 3,067 3,204 34 35 1,240 1,275 44 49 701 750 45 75 1, 324 1, 399 46 79 1,259 1,338 47 80 1,170 1,250 48 64 1,051 1,115 49 33 579 612 50 165 2,524 2,689 51 23 415 438 52 43 610 653 53 122 1,571 1,693 54 75 692 767 55 42 584 626 57 40 292 332 58 61 895 956 59 151 1,671 1,822 70 81 1,406 1,487 71 22 362 384 76 203 1,373 1,576 81 52 1, 096 1,148 82 196 2,200 2,396 93 63 782 845 94 0 38 38 95 24 523 547 96 25 543 568 98 17 81 98 102 1 45 46 106 0 2 2 109 1 5 6 111 0 0 0 112 0 0 0 113 0 0 0 114 0 4 4 115 0 0 0 2,018 28,403 30,421 30,421 0.05 1,521 1,521.