Real stadium referendum fails

Sandy Mayor Tom Dolan said he thought the petition for a referendum had been "quixotic" and its failure reflected how little Utahns were interested in the matter.

"I thought it was kind of off-the-wall from the beginning," he said.

But Forbush's group said in a statement that they believe the state requirements for a referendum petition are "onerous and excessive." The group plans to ask Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and legislators to study the issue.

Forbush said he was surprised at the low number of signatures turned in and said he thinks Get Real Utah lacked the strong volunteer base that an anti-voucher group had. A voter referendum challenging a new school voucher law qualified for a ballot spot on Monday. The group pushing the voucher referendum had the support of the PTA, the Utah Education Association and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

That meant the anti-voucher group had an existing membership, structure and funding mechanism that allowed them to organize and move forward quickly, Forbush's group said.

The voucher vote will mark the first time in 33 years a referendum petition has been successful. In 1974, a referendum vote overturned a land-use bill.

But Forbush's group believes the state requirements should be changed so that "everyday citizens," not just organizations and lobbyists, can have a way to question legislative decisions through a referendum.

"You shouldn't have to have thousands of volunteers and a million dollars to get it done," Forbush said.

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E-MAIL: astowell@desnews.com