The state Court of Appeal denied San Benito County resident
Rebecca McGovern’s petition to enact the Growth Control Initiative
through the legal system late last week.
McGovern and her lawyers from the nonprofit organization
Earthjustice have decided to file another appeal with the
California Supreme Court and have until Dec. 29 to do so, said
Earthjustice attorney Anne Harper.
The state Court of Appeal denied San Benito County resident Rebecca McGovern’s petition to enact the Growth Control Initiative through the legal system late last week.
McGovern and her lawyers from the nonprofit organization Earthjustice have decided to file another appeal with the California Supreme Court and have until Dec. 29 to do so, said Earthjustice attorney Anne Harper.
McGovern’s suit challenged the signature referendum that opponents of the initiative, the No on Measure G Committee, circulated to have the initiative put on the March ballot. The suit claims that language used on the petitions was illegal.
The Court of Appeals decision was given in a one sentence dismissal, saying simply that the petition for the writ of mandate, or an expedited appeal, they submitted was denied, Harper said.
“We knew the denial rate is 90 to 95 percent, so it was not a terrible shock,” Harper said. “But we’re very disappointed that the court didn’t give any rationale.”
The court didn’t believe there were grounds to intervene to overturn what the trial court had decided, said Marguerite Leoni, attorney for the No on Measure G Committee.
“McGovern wanted to circumvent the normal channels and try to get (the court) to act on an expedited basis,” Leoni said. “The court refused to do that.”
Leoni is pleased with the court’s decision, and while she felt there was a good chance the court would deny the appeal, she never attempted to predict the court’s ruling, she said.
“We’re very happy with the decision,” Leoni said. “Now the worse thing that’s going to happen is the voters of San Benito County get to vote and how bad is that?”
Leoni said McGovern’s suit alleging that language on the referendum mislead voters is baseless.
McGovern and Earthjustice plan on submitting a petition for review to the California Supreme Court, which means they will present a new brief stating that the issues concerning their petition have state-wide implications, Harper said.
“We hope that they will want to establish a uniform set of rules for county referendum petitions,” Harper said, “so that there will be clarity for referendum proponents and elected officials who need to decide the validity of petitions.”
Members of the No on Measure G Committee are thrilled the appeal was denied, said campaign manager Annette Giacomazzi.
“We knew the court would see the value in bringing the effort to the voters,” she said. “Two out of two times this has been thrown out. Let’s move on.”
Whether McGovern and Earthjustice is successful with their appeal to the California Supreme Court or not, it is their right to go through with it, said Dara Tobias, spokesperson for the No on Measure G Committee.
“I’m sorry to hear that they’re doing that, but we’ll take it as it comes,” Tobias said. “We’ll hope that they’re denied again.”
While the attorneys for Earthjustice are not county residents and have been criticized for being outsiders, McGovern has been a resident for over 30 years and is trying to preserve the agricultural land she cherishes in this area, Harper said.
“She is very much a part of this community,” Harper said.
McGovern did not return phone calls to the Free Lance.
