Hydroplane Issue Makes Ballot Opponents Barely Get Enough Signatures To Float Measure Past Voters

With a week to spare, hydroplane racing opponents squeaked in with enough signatures to get an initiative on the November ballot calling for a permanent ban on racing on Lake Coeur d’Alene.

The city clerk’s office Friday ruled Protect Our Lakes Association had 3,202 valid signatures - just three more than necessary.

“We’re ecstatic,” said Kathy Beechler. “I feel confident the majority of people don’t want it” and that the initiative will pass in the November election.

The successful signature-gathering campaign alone could kill the return of hydroplane races, which were held on the lake from 1958 to 1968. In February, Bill Doner, head of the Unlimited Racing Commission in Seattle, said he would cross Coeur d’Alene off of his list of racing sites if opponents got the initiative on the ballot.

“You send me the petition with 3,100-something signatures from the community on it and I will write a letter saying we won’t come,” Doner said. Doner was in Kansas City Friday and could not be reached for comment.

It was a tougher-than-expected battle for the foes of hydroplane racing, who expected an easy signature-gathering drive in light of citywide animosity over the proposed revival of racing last winter.

But state law and city ordinance require a larger percentage of voter signatures for citywide initiatives than county or state initiatives.

And although Protect Our Lakes gathered 6,000 signatures from voters, only 60 percent were ruled valid. That’s not unusual.

Often, people sign with their initials instead of full first names or have changed addresses but not changed their voter registration. That makes their signature on a petition invalid.

, DataTimes