Truman v. Royer
| Decision Date | 20 February 1961 |
| Citation | 11 Cal.Rptr. 159,189 Cal.App.2d 240 |
| Parties | Wilson J. TRUMAN, Reuel A. Myers, Leroy Simpson, Kenneth Ferguson, Beverly K. Cossitt and Robert Sorenson, Petitioners and Appellants, v. William H. ROYER, Sidney Herkner, Ray Weymouth, Louis Weiss, Floyd D. Granger, John S. Rosselli, Robert V. Spillers, as they are Councilmen of The City of Redwood City, Ralph S. Dodge and Vivian Holmquist, Respondents. Joseph B. FERRANDO, Frank Ferrando and Johanna Ferrando, his wife, Plaintiffs, Defendants, Defendants in Intervention, Appellants, v. CITY COUNCIL OF the CITY OF REDWOOD CITY, William Royer, Sidney Herkner, Floyd D. Granger, John S. Rosselli, Robert V. Spillers, Ray Weymouth, and Ronsia Field, as they are Councilmen of said City, and Ralph S. Dodge, as he is Clerk of said City, Defendants, Defendants in Intervention, and Respondents. Wilson J. Truman, Reuel A. Myers, Leroy Simpson and Beverly K. Cossitt, Plaintiffs in Intervention and Appellants. Civ. 19116, 19165. |
| Court | California Court of Appeals Court of Appeals |
Joseph D. Taylor, San Francisco, for appellants Truman, et al.
Robert J. Dell'ergo, James M. Paxton, Redwood City, for appellants Ferrando.
Robert J. Costello, City Atty. of the City of Redwood City, Richard E. Gardella, Asst. City Atty. of the City of Redwood City, Redwood City, for respondents.
These are appeals from judgments arising out of proceedings to qualify a referendum petition with reference to a rezoning of property in Redwood City.
On November 3, 1958, the Redwood City Council enacted an ordinance rezoning certain lots owned by the Ferrandos. Redwood City is a freeholders chartered city, and the Charter, section 6, provides that the referendum power may be exercised on ordinances passed by the council 'under and in accordance with the constitution and general laws of the state'; section 16 provides generally that ordinances shall not go into effect until 30 days after their final passage. On December 1, 1958, 25 separate sections of a purported referendum petition as to the ordinance of November 3rd were presented to the city council and referred to the city clerk. On December 9, 1958, the city clerk executed a certification which indicated the petition was insufficient as not signed, as of the time the petition was filed, by 10% of the 21,101 registered voters of Redwood City.
After examining the petition, the city clerk found: (1) that the circulators' affidavit attached to each section of the petition failed to state that they were voters of the city or their residential addresses; (2) that 2,627 persons signed the petition; (3) that of these signatures 670 were obtained by circulators who were neither voters nor residents of Redwood City; (4) that 55 signers were not registered voters at the addresses stated in the petition; (5) that 2 signatures were not followed by any precinct number; (6) that 25 signatures showed incorrect precinct numbers; and (7) that disregarding the above-mentioned defects the petition was signed by more than 10% of the city's voters registered at the time of filing. Acting upon the assumption that those sections of the petition which were circulated by persons who were neither residents nor voters of the city were invalid, the clerk disqualified 670 signatures, leaving a total of 1,957 signatures or 153 signatures less than the required 10% of the registered voters of Redwood City. On December 9, 1958, as a result of the above-mentioned computations, the clerk executed a certificate that the petition was insufficient.
On December 19, 1958, appellants Truman et al. filed a petition for writ of mandamus questioning the validity of the clerk's actions. On March 4, 1959, after oral argument and submission of written authorities, the court issued a memorandum of opinion sustaining a general demurrer to the petition with 20 days leave to amend and indicating therein that if the clerk had in fact checked the petition against the voting records and found from such inspection a sufficient number of registered voters signed the petition, the petition would be sufficient. The leave to amend gave the appellants Truman et al. an opportunity to allege such facts.
Before the petitioners filed an amendment and on March 16, 1959, the clerk certified the petition as sufficient. In an accompanying letter he stated that he did in fact check the signatures on the petition and found such to be signed by more than 10% of the city's registered voters.
Thereafter the appellants Truman et al. failed to amend their petition within the time allowed by the court and a judgment of dismissal was entered and filed on April 2, 1959.
On April 6, 1959, a petition for writ of mandate was filed by appellants Ferrando, as owners of the property rezoned by the ordinance, questioning the validity of the clerk's actions of March 16, 1959, certifying the petition as sufficient. Judgment was entered denying the relief sought by the appellants Ferrando on August 24, 1959, and brought forth this appeal by the Ferrandos on August 28, 1959.
In the meantime and on May 26, 1959, although satisfied by the qualifying of their petition, in view of the bringing of the Ferrando action on April 6, 1959, Truman et al. appealed in their matter so as to preserve such rights as they might have in the event of an adverse ruling in the Ferrando proceeding.
The Charter of Redwood City, insofar as it is applicable here, provides, in section 6:
'Ordinances may...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Citizens Committee to Recall Rizzo v. Board of Elections of City and County of Philadelphia
... ... affidavits.' ... Id. at 116, ... 168 P.2d at 216 ... [470 Pa. 95] ... In Truman v. Royer, 189 Cal.App.2d 240, 11 Cal.Rptr ... 159 (1st Dist.1961), the affidavits were false in a material ... respect in that the law required ... ...
-
Citizens Committee to Recall Rizzo v. Board of Elections of City and County of Philadelphia, 90
...of said electors should not be defeated by the omissions of the affidavits.' Id. at 116, 168 P.2d at 216. In Truman v. Royer, 189 Cal.App.2d 240, 11 Cal.Rptr. 159 (1st Dist.1961), the affidavits were false in a material respect in that the law required the affiant to be a voter of the city ......
-
Preserve Shorecliff Home. v. San Clemente
...determined that there were a sufficient number of qualified signatures to put the referendum on the ballot, under Truman v. Royer (1961) 189 Cal.App.2d 240, 11 Cal.Rptr. 159, the city clerk was required to certify the referendum. Moreover, the trial court specifically held that, "Assuming a......
-
Mhc Financing Ltd. v. City of Santee
...quoting Goodenough, supra, 18 Cal.App.3d at pp. 696-697, 96 Cal.Rptr. 165.) The Native American court also cited Truman v. Royer (1961) 189 Cal.App.2d 240, 11 Cal.Rptr. 159, in which the court "held that the ministerial act of correcting the certification of a referendum petition after the ......