from the Union Leader…
MANCHESTER – The New Hampshire Advantage Coalition is taking the city to court over last week’s vote to keep a proposed spending cap off the November ballot.
A petition filed yesterday afternoon in Hillsborough County Superior Court accuses eight Democratic aldermen of violating state law in a “grotesque political ploy” to kill the proposal. Mike Biundo, chairman of the Concord-based anti-tax group, said he hopes the city will be forced to put the question before voters on Nov. 4.
The aldermen, meanwhile, have agreed to put the referendum to a vote, but not until November 2009.
Alderman At-Large Mike Lopez said the 14-month window would allow city officials to get a handle on how a spending cap would affect the city budget and to disseminate that information to voters.
“In the end,” he said, “if the voters of Manchester vote for the cap, I want to be satisfied to the best of my mind they’ve been given all the information,” Lopez said.
Biundo argues Lopez and other officials have had since May to scrutinize the proposal, which aims to limit the size of the city budget.
“They’ve had four months to start asking questions,” he said. “Instead, they took the four months and figured out a way to keep it off the Nov. 4 ballot.”
A court hearing on the New Hampshire Advantage Coalition’s petition is likely to be scheduled this week or next, Biundo said.
Members of the coalition, whose leaders include several Republican political candidates, allege the eight Democratic aldermen acted illegally when they blocked efforts to put the question on the Nov. 4 general election ballot.
“Placement on the ballot on that date is not discretionary. It is required by RSA 49-B,” the group’s petition says.
Aldermen who argued against the early date offered a different interpretation, saying the law does allow for a special election that could be held at any time, so long as voters have at least 60 days to prepare for it.
“We didn’t break the law. We worked within that law,” Alderman Jim Roy said.
A November 2009 referendum would coincide with elections for mayor and aldermen. Many board members said they believed it would be better to hold the referendum then, rather than hold a special election that could cost anywhere from $30,000 to $40,000 and would not draw as many voters.
“History shows participation is much higher in a general election, rather than a primary,” Alderman Mike Garrity said. “I think we should have as much participation as possible on this question.”
There was, however, some hesitation about the choice to delay the referendum for 14 months. One alderman at-large, Dan O’Neil, voted against the November 2009 date because, he said, he was not convinced it is legal to schedule a vote more than a year in advance.
Alderman Mark Roy, the only other board member to oppose the date, said he would have preferred to hold a special election, saying it would be “money well spent.”
“It’s a major change of legislation for the city,” he said, “and I think it deserves its own day.”
Yesterday’s vote in favor of the November 2009 date passed by a margin of 11 to 2. Alderman Kelleigh Domaingue was absent.
Similar caps have already earned a place on the November 2008 ballots in Rochester and Somersworth.
Biundo said he plans to file a petition in Merrimack County Superior Court this Friday in hopes of forcing a vote in Concord this November.