Conservative political activist Christian Berrigan says he still wishes to withdraw a referendum petition he filed last month to Clark County’s 20-year Comprehensive Growth Management Plan, despite no longer facing the threat of attorneys’ fees.
During a hearing Friday, Berrigan told Superior Court Judge David Gregerson that he is confused as to why the case is going forward and would like to dismiss it.
Berrigan pulled his referendum petition after learning that the county would pursue attorneys’ fees against him. He hand-delivered a letter declaring he was withdrawing his petition to Elections Supervisor Cathie Garber on Wednesday. He also called Deputy Prosecutor Chris Horne, he said, and left a message asking that he move for a joint dismissal.
Horne told the court Friday that the county is no longer pursuing attorneys’ fees in the case. But that did not sway Berrigan’s decision.
Horne said he is also unsure if the petition can simply be withdrawn, because there are 136 valid citizen signatures to take into account.
Berrigan argued that he is the only defendant named in the suit and wants to remove himself. He said his signature did not even appear on the petition that was filed. “I don’t want to be under the scrutiny of the prosecutor’s office,” he said.
The Clark County council approved the growth management plan update last month. After Berrigan filed a petition to the plan, the council voted to ask a judge to declare that growth plans cannot be the subject of a referendum.
Horne and Deputy Prosecutor Jane Vetto at a recent board time meeting cited a 2006 state Supreme Court decision ruling that ordinances approved under the Growth Management Act are not subject to referenda. Clark County’s home rule charter also states that ordinances required by state or federal law, such as the comprehensive plan, are not subject to referenda.
On Friday, Berrigan argued that the court should first rule on whether he can be dismissed from the petition before ruling on its merits.
He also expressed concerns about who would represent the people if he withdraws and whether the petition’s signers can be sued. Horne said because no one else is named, the county cannot seek attorneys’ fees against them.
Gregerson proposed setting the hearing over to 1:30 p.m. Aug. 5. If none of the signers oppose the petition being withdrawn, then it may be resolved at that time.
After Friday’s hearing, Berrigan said in an interview that he wants to remove himself from the petition to avoid being in the county’s “cross-hairs.” He said although the county is no longer pursuing attorneys’ fees, he does not trust that it won’t find another “avenue of retribution” if he goes forward.
He said the county should have been willing to work out the details and confusing wording of the charter. Instead, it used a “bullying tactic that put a chilling effect on all of the citizens of Clark County,” Berrigan said.
The message it sends, he said, is that no one should turn in a citizen’s petition without getting a lawyer.
