By Howard Fischer | Capitol Media Services via Arizona Capitol Times
The attorney for the state’s largest utility said Monday that Arizonans be precluded from voting on a renewable energy mandate because they were not told when signing petitions that a California billionaire is behind the measure.
Brett Johnson told Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Daniel Kiley that Arizona law specifically requires that initiative petitions list the sponsoring organization. He said that’s more than a procedural requirement.
“What if it is an offensive group that is trying to logroll a situation through the state of Arizona?” Johnson asked. And what, he said, if that name would turn off voters?
“So, instead, they come up with a flowery organization name that has been marketed all over the country and the communications people say, ‘If you use this name, we’ll be able to logroll this initiative through,’ ” he said.
Johnson told Kiley that’s precisely what happened here.
