Spokane Mayor David Condon issued the following statement about the judge’s decision regarding the action taken by the City to protect the citizen initiative process:

“Asking a judge for clarity on the hearing examiner’s opinion was an action the City did not take lightly. We weighed the hearing examiner’s opinion and decided it was a necessary protection of the citizen initiative process as outlined by City ordinance. The ordinance, which the Council President and I championed and the majority of the City Council supported, requires the hearing examiner to provide voters guidance as to the legal validity of a proposed ordinance.

The hearing examiner’s opinion identified legal flaws that we determined were best evaluated by a judge because placing a legally flawed measure on the ballot leaves taxpayers vulnerable to costly litigation that arises out of enforcing an invalid initiative.”