Tara Jeffrey speaks during public comment at the Jan 24 Ojai City Council meeting in support of the referendum she filed with just over a dozen supporters standing behind her.Â
Ojai Council member Andrew Whitman speaks about his views on the Ojai Bungalows/Green Hawk development agreement at the Jan. 24 Ojai City Council meeting.Â
Tara Jeffrey speaks during public comment at the Jan 24 Ojai City Council meeting in support of the referendum she filed with just over a dozen supporters standing behind her.Â
In a 3-2 vote at its Jan. 24 meeting, Ojai City Council voted to send the Ojai Bungalows/Green Hawk Development Agreement to a vote of the people to be on the ballot for the March 5, 2024 primary election.Â
Mayor Betsy Stix voted no, saying she supported the issue being on the November 2024 ballot, which is a presidential election and will therefore have more voters participating.Â
Ojai Valley News photo by Kimberly Rivers
Ojai Council member Andrew Whitman speaks about his views on the Ojai Bungalows/Green Hawk development agreement at the Jan. 24 Ojai City Council meeting.Â
Council member Andrew Whitman also voted no. He said his "goal is to give democracy the greatest chance" and commented on the higher voter turnout in general presidential elections.
Prior to the vote he had said "If I were to vote to take this away from the voters, it would be because (I'm) very much concerned about misinformation. I would be very much concerned about how unfair (it would be) to put the voters in a place that I found very difficult to work my way through with legal counsel."
Kimberly has been reporting on a wide range of issues in Ventura County for over a decade including land use, oil and gas, government accountability, open meeting and sunshine laws, and climate change.
