Citizens in Charge Foundation

If a group called Coalition for Public Referendum is successful, Nacogdoches voters could soon have a greater voice in the legislative decisions of the city.

The group is collecting signatures to place an item on the ballot in May’s city election that would amend the city charter to provide for initiative, referendum and recall measures.

If the amendment is adopted, a large enough group of voters would have the authority to propose their own legislation, reject legislation passed by the city commission or remove elected officials from public office. Citizens would not be able to vote on certain issues, such as the appropriation of money, the issuance of bonds, the levy of taxes, or the salaries of city officers or employees.

The Texas Municipal League does not keep figures on how many cities have such provisions in their charters, according to a spokeswoman. But a graduate study at Texas State University said at least 82 percent of home rule cities in the state have one or more of the “democracy tools.”

The ability to put important issues to a public vote or challenge controversial votes of the city commission would be an improvement of the local democratic process, Nancy Tipton, a member of Coalition for Public Referendum, said. “It’s a check and balance, basically for the democratic process,” she said.

Tipton said the tools would have been useful in the past, for example, when Wal-Mart was considering its expansion in Nacogdoches and when certain historic structures were being considered for demolition. Important decisions, Tipton said, should not always be left to elected representatives.

“Whatever decisions they make are made on the presumption that they know what all the citizens of Nacogdoches want,” Tipton said.

Mayor Roger Van Horn did not offer an opinion on the proposed amendment because he had not seen a final draft of the document, but he said he was glad that citizens were engaged in the affairs of the city.

“My role as mayor, representing everybody in the city, is to ensure that what they are proposing is good for the city and legal, workable,” he said. “My job is to make sure that the process is done well and that it is done fairly…(Read More)