By Sean Holstege | The Arizona Republic
A Gila River Indian Community Tribal Council meeting began at 9 a.m. Wednesday with the prospect that an initiative to move the proposed South Mountain Freeway onto tribal soil would go on an upcoming ballot.
Seven hours later, it ended very differently.
Tribal leaders instead voted unanimously to launch a police investigation probing whether backers committed election fraud when they gathered signatures.
Initiative backers, who want to amend the planned route of the controversial $2 billion freeway, and opponents, who want no freeway at all, both claimed victory. Others were left to ponder the latest twist in the story of a freeway that has been beset with uncertainty since it was first planned along Pecos Road and through South Mountain Park in 1985.
The tribe’s police and auditors were directed to report their findings in 30 to 60 days. The council is required to decide by April 21 whether to put the measure on a ballot, refuse it, or legislate a course of action based on the signatures.
