PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles City Council approved a Nov. 7 general election ballot resolution Tuesday which would ask voters to revert city government to the second-class city designation it held before 1971 and would mandate new elections for City Council members.
The vote on the resolution, proposed by the anti-fluoridation group Our Water, Our Choice!, was 4-1 with Mayor Patrick Downie and council members Lee Whetham, Cherie Kidd and Sissi Bruch in favor, Brad Collins opposed, and Dan Gase and Michael Merideth absent.
Those who voted in favor of the resolution opposed the change in government but said they felt obligated to follow the will of ballot petitioners who sought the change and who submitted an overwhelming number of names to accomplish it.
Proponents have said the measure would make the City Council more responsive to citizens and foster more comments , while opponents have said citizens would lose home-rule powers including the right to organize citizen ballot initiatives.
Council members also unanimously approved an advisory ballot asking voters if the city should resume fluoridation of the city’s water supply, which was stopped Aug. 3 pending the results of the advisory ballot.
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Senior Staff Writer Paul Gottlieb can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 55650, or at pgottlieb@peninsuladailynews.com.
