Fixing the petition process

[KCPowercat]

We vote for leaders to lead the city for a set timeframe. During that time we entrust them to make decisions to keep the city moving.

Recently, a group of "responsible" people have decided that anything they don't agree with, they will organize their 3000 petition signers and throw monkey wrenches into any project they see fit.

Petitions are a great citizen tool to get action in city hall but this group has abused this tool in many eyes.

The current petition ordinance sets the minimum number of signers at a percentage of those who voter for the mayor last election. Sly was running basically unopposed so these "responsible" people told all their friends to not vote for mayor to make their petition signing easier in his last term.

So as a city how do we better handle this petition process? Some options...

- set petition signing minimum to a percentage of registered voters in the city vs those voting for mayor in last election?
- maximum number of petitions you as a voter can organize or sign in a certain timeframe?
- different percentage of minimum signers needed depending on what the petition is doing... For example bringing up a new idea is less than challenging the council who have already been voted into office?

I don't know what the answer is but this current setup is getting ridiculous.

[pash]

.

[DaveKCMO]

every time city hall tries to mess with this process, they get rebuffed. the 'petitioners' will tire. it's a long slog to get to even that low number, so imagine doing that 10 times.

[mykn]

I've been wanting to start a petition to make my cat (Willard, the orange tabby) the official city mascot. Who's with me?

[flyingember]

I liked the idea of having an either-or minimum.

I would do it based off number of registered voters unless the number of voters in any city only, citywide ballot item in the past year reaches 50.01% of the electorate or higher.

Then do something interesting, the normal threshold may be 7500 signatures and you must get least 1000 from each council district. If any election reaches that number the required numbers drop down to 6000 signatures for a year. (numbers are arbitrary for the example) The idea is if people are voting you make it easier to get things to a vote. If people aren't voting you make more people be ok with the idea to go to a vote. In this system petition items are getting a clear response from the electorate either path.

[chingon]

Maybe having contested Mayoral races? You make the bed, you lie in it.

[mean]

Maybe someone should organize an opposition-to-the-opposition group. Unless that group is just called "the government".

[KCPowercat]

every time city hall tries to mess with this process, they get rebuffed. the 'petitioners' will tire. it's a long slog to get to even that low number, so imagine doing that 10 times.

I maybe wrong by my impression is they have 3k people in their pocket and easily pull off signing anything the CAVE leader wants them to sign.

[normalthings]

Maybe someone should organize an opposition-to-the-opposition group.

Do you mean a "Citizens for Less Responsible Government?"

[KCPowercat]

Citizens for American freedom for saving good things and not letting terrorists win remember 9/11 support our troops group.

That's my submission.

[mean]

Maybe someone should organize an opposition-to-the-opposition group.

Do you mean a "Citizens for Less Responsible Government?"

More like "Just Say No to NIMBYs". Or "Coalition to Persuade People Who Don't Want Urban Things To Piss Off out of Cities and Go Live In a Tree or Something in the Woods".

[chingon]

YIMBY group loosely forming for the SW corridor as we speak...lots of us are shit full of CFRG pretending to speak for us.

[DaveKCMO]

YIMBY group loosely forming for the SW corridor as we speak...lots of us are shit full of CFRG pretending to speak for us.

i'm listening.

[kboish]

YIMBY group loosely forming for the SW corridor as we speak...lots of us are shit full of CFRG pretending to speak for us.

Thumbs up x10.

[KCPowercat]

Do the YIMBY have the bored housewife crazies it needs to put passion into it?

[TheBigChuckbowski]

So, with the city council denying two Plaza projects not seeking incentives because they're too dense, KC is in desperate need of a YIMBY group. Has anyone heard of anything moving in that direction?

[Eon Blue]

I like to think that the Downtown Neighborhood Association is pretty YIMBY for good urban projects of any density.

[KCPowercat]

Must be a KCMO registered voter to start the petition process.

[flyingember]

Must be a KCMO registered voter to start the petition process.

Too broad. There's ways to do a TDD that doesn't require a resident vote and these require petitions.