A citizen-led initiative to put term limits on the Tucson mayor and City Council has failed, slightly more than a week after organizers turned in more than 11,900 petition signatures.
City Clerk Roger Randolph formally rejected the proposal Tuesday for a lack of valid signatures.
A review by the Pima County Recorder’s Office estimated more than 3,686 signatures were ineligible.
Random samples of submitted signatures found many were not registered to vote or did not live within the city limits.
The minimum number of valid signatures to refer the initiative to city voters this fall was 9,100.
The decision by the city clerk comes as a Pima County Superior Court judge considers a legal challenge by the group that organized the petition drive, the Tucson Term Limits Committee.
The group filed a complaint in Superior Court against the city last week seeking to restore some of the disqualified signatures.
City Attorney Mike Rankin said the city did not need to wait on the legal challenge to invalidate the initiative, noting the review by the county found the group no longer met the minimum signature requirements even if the group prevailed in court.
Armando Rios, one of the main organizers of the committee, said the disqualifications were based on a 5 percent sample of the signatures.
He said the committee’s attorneys are reviewing the analysis, noting they disagree with officials on what constitutes the wrong jurisdiction.
Rios is convinced the average Tucsonan supports term limits, saying he has done polling on the issue.
“Polling we conducted show that this grassroots effort to reform city government cuts across all lines,” he said “Democrat, Republican, Hispanic, Anglo, center city, far east and west — Tucson likes the idea of leveling the playing field and bringing fresh ideas to city hall.”
Councilman Steve Kozachik said the proposal, which would limit the number of years a single person could serve on the council or as mayor to eight years, was unnecessary.
The decision is unrelated to another legal fight the city is involved with related to elections.
The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently heard a case challenging the city’s election system of ward-only primaries and citywide general elections. Opponents said the system violates the 14th Amendment and the Equal Protection Clause, known as the “one man, one vote” rule.
Rios said even if the term-limit initiative does not go forward this year, his group will begin again next year to bring the issue to a vote.
“We’re confident that the time has come for term limits in Tucson and once we get on the ballot an overwhelming majority of our fellow Tucsonans will confirm that,” he said.
