After we submitted our signatures for Monroe Initiative #1, the Mayor Zimmerman and the City Council initiated a lawsuit against us for sponsoring the initiative. And they used your tax dollars to pay a Seattle law firm to do it. For the past several months, we've had to defend ourselves against their effort to block the vote.
    We argued that city leaders violated their oath and duty when they acted as judge and jury on this initiative by blocking the vote on their own accord. Last week Snohomish County Superior Court Judge George Bowden ruled on the case (City of Monroe versus Seeds of Liberty). He agreed with us and ruled that the city's actions constituted a SLAPP lawsuit against us (Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation). Our Mayor and City Council burdened us with having to defend the right of Monroe citizens to express their opinions and weigh in on this matter. They stalled the process, making it impossible for our initiative to be on the November ballot. On top of that, they repeatedly and deceptively told the press and the public that they were "just seeking a clarification" and "were not suing us for monetary damages". Their lawsuit against us told a different story. The City of Monroe sought relief from not only the obligation of this initiative, but they sought payment for their legal expenses and to fine us - Seeds of Liberty -- $10,000 for defending ourselves! They were clearly trying to send a clear message to us and to future initiative sponsors: Monroe does not have to abide by the initiative process, and anyone who doesn't acquiesce will be buried in legal fees and be subjected to substantial fines.
     Undaunted, we went forward. We passed the hat. With your help, we met them in court, and we prevailed.
    As required by state law, the public vote on Monroe Initiative #1 will be on the April 2012 ballot. This could have been over last year. There didn't have to be a special election. The decision by the Mayor and City Council to take this course of action cost taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars. Monroe's City leaders must stop trying to squash the will of the people and stop placing us under electronic camera surveillance for the sole purpose of imposing fines. Council members repeatedly stated "if it is legal, then it will go on the ballot". The time has come to end the stalling tactics.
Thanks to the heroic support of nearly half of all active voters in Monroe, the voters have earned the right to vote on Monroe Initiative No. 1.
    The best thing the Mayor and City Council can do now to show that they're listening is to take down all the ticketing cameras in Monroe immediately. The public votes last November in numerous cities in Washington clearly indicate the people don't want ticketing cameras.

Related articles:

Monroe city officials to review future of red-light cameras

MONROE -- City officials expect to go behind closed doors Tuesday to talk with their lawyers about a recent ruling that appears to clear a path for another advisory vote on red-light cameras.
Snohomish County Superior Court Judge George Bowden last week wrote a letter holding that Monroe officials erred last year when they rejected outright an initiative that would have forced a vote on the future of traffic-enforcement cameras in the city.

Judge slaps city of Monroe with $10,000 fine and then some over red light camera Initiative
The city of Monroe had sued the local group Seeds of Liberty and others to prevent Monroe Initiative #1 from ever getting on the ballot, claiming it over stepped the boundaries of what a citizen initiative could do.

~~~