WILKES-BARRE City attorneys are asking the Luzerne County Board of Elections to toss out a petition filed by activists fighting to reopen the closed East Northampton Street firehouse.
The petition filed last week by Denise Carey and her Citizens for Safety group is an effort to amend the citys home-rule charter to allow issue-specific initiatives and referendums to be placed on the ballot.
The proposed amendment is the first step in forcing the city to reopen the firehouse in the Heights neighborhood, closed since the beginning of the year, Carey said.
If the proposed amendment reaches the November ballot and is approved, Careys hope is that residents could then place a referendum to reopen the Heights firehouse on the ballot in time for the May 2006 primary.
But city attorneys contend the petition filed by Careys group violates the states constitution and that many of the signatures were obtained under false pretenses.
The constitution of Pennsylvania says if there is a state law governing a specific issue across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania then you cannot include it or change it as part of your home rule charter, said Bill Vinsko, city attorney.
The groups petition, if accepted, would place specific requirements on the election board in a way that would violate state law, he said.
If council passes an ordinance and for whatever reason someone doesnt like it and they get a certain number of signatures, they can make council reconsider the ordinance or put it on a ballot to have it repealed, Vinsko said.
The citys second objection focuses on the way the group solicited signatures.
They told everybody that this was a petition to reopen the Heights firehouse, Vinsko said. It doesnt have anything to do with the Heights at all.
The group, he said, is seeking to substantially change the government of Wilkes-Barre. Thats not a problem but it has to be done legally.
Based on a review of the petitions 1,350 signatures, Vinsko estimates 1,000 are valid. Of those 1,000, seven residents have signed affidavits stating they were unaware of what they were signing, and he suspects more people may feel that way.
The city is also asking the group to pay attorneys fees and expenses as the legal process moves forward.
I think they need to get a life, Carey said Tuesday when informed of the citys legal action.
Carey, who has been one of the most vocal opponents of the citys closing of the station in the hilly neighborhood, contends the reopening is vital for the residents safety.
Residents, she said, knew what they were signing.
We told them that it was to get an initiative and a referendum on the ballot as step one to reopen the Heights firehouse, she said.
Within 10 days of Tuesdays filing, the court must schedule a hearing date, and Carey is ready to take the fight as far as necessary.
Well go if thats what needs to happen, and were not going to stop until people get the rights they deserve, she said.
Distributed by the Associated Press
