Put issues on ballot

In an April 26 editorial, The Spokesman-Review advanced several arguments on why it thought the Clean and Fair Elections Ordinance should not become the law in Spokane. As a member of the group that sponsored that ballot initiative, I assure you we are anxious to respond to those arguments.

However, an election campaign is the time for that. The issue at hand now is whether or not the voters should have the right to vote on this at all. It appears that some on the Spokane City Council and The Spokesman-Review editorial board feel they should not; that this initiative should be stopped before it goes on the ballot.

We collected over 4,500 signatures to give the voters that right. Denying that because of doubts about whether a court would uphold this ordinance is putting the cart before the horse. That decision belongs to the courts – not the City Council. Councilman Mike Fagan recently was involved in a statewide initiative about which there were doubts of its constitutionality. It was nonetheless submitted to a vote. It passed, after which the courts had their say.

We echo Councilman Fagan’s red T-shirt: “Let the People Decide!”

Ted Hensold

Spokane