Appeal on Vegas stadium petition heard; no decision yet

Las Vegas Councilman Bob Beers either has way too many or way too few signatures needed to put a publicly subsidized soccer stadium on the June 2 municipal election ballot, but he won’t find out for at least a few more days.

Clark County District Judge Jerry Wiese on Wednesday decided not to immediately rule on a suit seeking to settle a weekslong battle over the number of signatures required to force a public referendum on millions in taxpayer dollars the city hopes to spend on a $200 million downtown soccer stadium.

City officials announced in early January that only 2,306 signatures would be required to put the stadium funding plan up for a vote. An apparent error in the city clerk’s office saw that number almost quadruple just one week later.

A Jan. 23 suit filed by Beers sought to force City Hall to acknowledge the lower, earlier referenced threshold for putting the issue on the ballot.

Wiese said he had to catch up on court documents submitted Tuesday, but could rule on the matter by the end of the week. Both sides are expected to appeal should that ruling not go their way.

County elections officials last week announced Beers and other stadium subsidy foes had fallen roughly 1,300 signatures short of the second city-mandated signature requirement, though they still managed to collect around three times the 2,306 signatures first thought needed to put a stadium question to voters.

Wednesday’s court hearing saw stadium subsidy opponents point to a state law requiring ballot petitions to be signed by a number of registered voters equal to 15 percent of those who voted in the last city election, held in 2013.

City Attorney Brad Jerbic argued that the law was trumped by Article 19 of the Nevada Constitution, which requires petition backers to collect a number of signatures equal to 15 percent of those who voted in the preceding “general county or municipal election,” held with a much higher turnout in 2011.

Wiese asked the city to account for the first, lower signature tally announced by officials on Jan. 7. Wasn’t it reasonable, he wondered, for Beers and other subsidy opponents to have relied on that initial announcement?

Jerbic said his office wasn’t consulted on the matter prior to the announcement. He conceded there had been a “comedy of errors” stemming from the incident but said stadium subsidy foes should have consulted an attorney before banking on the city clerk’s first reading of Nevada statute.

Jerbic also exposed an apparent flaw in subsidy opponents’ legal reasoning, pointing out that the city, by law, cannot “add an ordinance” to the city charter looking to block public stadium funding, as requested under Beers’ ballot initiative. Petitioners can add an ordinance to that effect in city code, but would need state legislative approval in order to revise the city charter.

Craig Mueller, Beers’ attorney, looked to swing the discussion back to the city’s revised petition signature target — a move he suggested the city undertook simply to paper over past mistakes.

“(Jerbic) concedes that his reading is contrary to plain reading of the statute,” Mueller said. “That is intellectual chaos. It’s starting from a conclusion and trying to work backwards.

“It wasn’t until Mr. Jerbic got involved that the number (changed).”

Beers, who has accused City Hall of deploying “egregious unfair play” in alleged efforts to stymie the stadium ballot initiative, said the deck was stacked against ballot petition supporters from the start.

“The plain reading of the constitution supports the (state) law,” the Ward 2 councilman said. “It’s a little frustrating, but governments tend to wrestle with citizens’ direct involvement.

“We expect (the court) will rule to put it on the ballot.”

Fellow stadium subsidy opponent and Mayor Pro Tem Stavros Anthony is betting voters will reward his persistence in trying to put the stadium up for a vote.

A deal approved by city leaders on Dec. 17 requires Las Vegas leaders to chip in $56.5 million toward construction of the much-ballyhooed 24,000-seat downtown stadium project opposed by Anthony and other stadium subsidy foes.

City leaders narrowly approved the deal over loud objections from City Council conservatives Beers and Anthony.

Four city leaders — Bob Coffin, Steve Ross, Ricki Barlow and Mayor Goodman, the same four who supported the publicly subsidized stadium plan — passed on a chance to put their own ballot question to early last month.

Stadium subsidy foes kicked off their whirlwind signature gathering campaign three days later.

Contact James DeHaven at jdehaven@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3839. Follow him on Twitter: @JamesDeHaven.