His former-honor councilman Keith Curry recently used the Museum House referendum to slam Team Newport and the city council for including legally allowed documents in the petition. As a reminder, Curry voted for the project.
Armed with his law degree from Cal State Long Beach, Curry claimed an election would cost Newport’s taxpayers $2 million because the city is required to mail all 57,000 voters the documents contained in the referendum petition.
Newport’s voters are familiar with years of Curry’s diatribes and inaccurate statements. This just another example.
California Elections Code Section 9280 says in part: “The above statement is an impartial analysis of Ordinance or Measure ____. If you desire a copy of the ordinance or measure, please call the elections official’s office at (insert telephone number) and a copy will be mailed at no cost to you.” (Amended by Stats. 2016, Ch. 422, Sec. 45. Effective January 1, 2017.)
If the city council calls for an election on the Museum House, it won’t cost $2 million to print the ballot. As the law states, voters can call the city clerk for a copy of the petition documents.
Bob McCaffrey
Balboa Island
