http://www.snoho.com/stories/June/061610_eyman.html
 
Eyman to council: It’s your move
MUKILTEO - Six-year-old Elijah Sherwood, son of Nick Sherwood from BanCams.com, wearing a camera on his head and a bright blue “Let Voters Decide” T-shirt, led the walk into City Hall in an effort to get the issue of red-light cameras before voters.
Initiative campaigner and Mukilteo resident, Tim Eyman, said he has enough signatures to put the issue of red-light cameras on the ballot. Eyman presented Mayor Joe Marine last week with 1,908 signatures, more than the required 15 percent of registered voters, to get the issue on the ballot.
The initiative would ask voters whether they want red-light cameras, would repeal the May 24 decision to allow them and would require a vote of the people if a future council brings the issue up again.
Eyman said he only needed 1,804 signatures to qualify for the ballot.
The signatures were collected during a two-week signature drive initiated by Eyman, Nick Sherwood and Alex Rion with Washington State Campaign for Liberty.
 

The council narrowly passed a motion May 24 to enter into a yearlong trial contract with American Traffic Solutions to install red-light cameras at the intersection of Mukilteo Speedway and the northern end of Harbour Pointe Boulevard.
“(The council members are) not bad people,” Eyman said. “We just think they made a decision that most voters are against.”
Marine had to break the 3-3 tie. Councilman Kevin Stoltz was not at that meeting and said last week that “If I was there, I would have voted no.”
Rion said there were better ways to control speeding, such as speed bumps or roundabouts.
Marine said he is not sure whether the initiative is legal and is checking with the city attorney.
“(Marine’s) been saying this since day one: ‘I’m going to look into this.’ He’s had weeks and weeks to look into this,” Eyman said.
Marine said previously that he has the authority to sign the contract. The council, though, is scheduled to discuss the issue at its June 21 meeting.
Eyman urged council members to reverse its decision and vote to put the initiative on the earliest possible ballot because the initiative directs how future councils should approach the issue if it were to come up again.
Council members Jennifer Gregersen, Tony Tinsley and Kevin Stolz say they are in favor of putting the initiative on the ballot.
Gregersen wrote in an e-mail that she has already signed the petition and hopes that “the original ordinance ... gets reversed.”
Tinsley wrote in an e-mail that he was “elected to represent the people, not rule over them. I also support the right of citizens to vote on an issue, whenever they express their desire to.”

By ALENA ONWEILER SWANSON
Published June 16, 2010

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