Stadium Referendum Effort Dead

None by KCPW

Backers Call for Referendum Reform

(KCPW News) Funding for the ReAL Soccer Stadium will not be put to a public vote. The grassroots group "Get Real Utah" gathered just 12,343 of the nearly 92,000 signatures required for a ballot referendum.

Spokesman Gary Forbush says it shows the need for referendum reform. He argues the threshold for getting an issue on the ballot is unrealistic for average citizens. Ten-thousand of the total 12,343 signatures his group gathered came from Salt Lake County. Referendum sponsors struggled to get residents in other counties to care about the issue, since it affects only Salt Lake County taxpayers. Yet since the Utah Legislature passed the stadium-funding package, the referendum petition required signatures statewide.

While the group's referendum hopes are now dead, Forbush says they would like a state task force to consider the constitutionality of forcing a county issue to be subject to the requirements of a statewide referendum. Since "Get Real Utah" has no money for a legal challenge, Forbush says the group is looking for pro-bono representation.

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