By Melissa Leu
The Arizona Republic
An effort to put a multimillion-dollar hockey deal in front of Glendale voters failed to get enough signatures to make the ballot.
Political action committee Back to Sanity, led by Glendale residents Ken Jones and Francine Romesburg, initiated a referendum in late November, days after the Glendale City Council approved a controversial arena-management deal that would keep the Phoenix Coyotes in the city the next 20 years. The deal has the city paying the prospective team buyer more than $300 million over the next two decades to manage the arena.
Back to Sanity failed to gather the roughly 6,900 signatures needed within the required 30 days. Jones would not release exact numbers, but said a team of about a dozen volunteers gathered more than half of the required amount.
Thursday was the deadline to turn in the signatures.
