Not Enough Valid Signatures in Yakima to Move Petition Forward

All three petitions failed.
Three petitions turned into the city of Yakima earlier this year failed to gain the needed amount of signatures to move forward.

TWO OF THE PETITIONS FAILED BECAUSE THEY DIDN'T MEET THE SIGNATURE REQUIREMENT

Yakima city officials say 1258 signatures were required on each petition to be considered by the Yakima City Council. Two of the petitions failed because a group of Yakima residents weren't able to gain the number of signatures needed.

THE PETITIONS WERE SUPPOSED TO REVERSE CITY DECISIONS

A press release from the group backing the petitions say two petitions oppose the removal from the city code of the Sustainable Yakima Committee, which addresses climate change issues and the Community Integration Committee, which focuses on equity issues. A third petition opposes placing the Bike/Pedestrian Committee, the Historic Preservation Committee, and the Tree Board under the jurisdiction of the Planning Commission.

ONE PETITION MOVED BEYOND THE CLERKS OFFICE AND WAS RESEARCHED BY THE YAKIMA COUNTY AUDITOR

The only petition that moved forward was the petition that opposed the removal of the Sustainable Yakima Committee, which addressed climate change issues in Yakima. The group submitted 1,276 signatures beyond the 1258 required. The petition was turned over to the Yakima City Clerks Office which then worked with the Yakima County Auditors Office to verify the signatures.

ROSS SAYS THERE WERE DUPLICATES AND PEOPLE WHO WEREN'T REGISTERED VOTERS SIGNING THE PETITION

In the end Ross says only 1,137 signatures were found to be valid disqualifying the petition, failing to move forward. Ross says of the 1,276 signatures turned into the city, 11 signatures didn't match the signatures on file in the county. 74 signatures were from people who were not registered in the city of Yakima. 16 of the signatures were duplicates and 38 people who signed the petition were not registered to vote. Ross says the group can now try again to gain the needed valid signatures to move petitions forward.

YAKIMA COUNCIL MEMBER MATT BROWN SAYS THE COMMITTEES CAN STILL MEET BUT NOT AS OFFICIAL CITY OF YAKIMA COMMITTEES

Yakima City Council member Matt Brown says the committees were created to serve a purpose and the council deemed their purpose was no longer needed. He says the committees can still meet and talk about the issues they just aren't being labled as official Yakima city committees.