Council agrees to lower referendum threshold to 10% but rejects cut to recalls

Councilors reviewed CRC recommendations to standardize citizen petition thresholds and debated the policy trade‑offs.

Councilor Prince framed the question as two linked changes: lowering the initiative/referral thresholds to 10% and dropping recall thresholds from 10% to 5%. Several councilors opposed reducing the recall threshold to 5%, cautioning that a low recall threshold can be weaponized and has produced litigation and governance dysfunction in other cities. One councilor recalled a near‑recall episode that would have achieved success at a 5% level but failed under the current 10% standard.

The council coalesced around leaving recall at 10% while accepting the CRC’s approach to reduce referendum from 15% to 10% so that initiative and referendum thresholds align. Mayor (role) and several councilors nodded to that compromise; the change will be reflected in the redraft for voters’ review.

What’s next: staff and the city attorney will incorporate the threshold edits into the draft charter and prepare plain‑language informational materials for voters.