01/26/2022
THOUGHTS ON RECENT COMMENTS SURROUNDING THE PROPOSED SANCTUARY CITY FOR THE UNBORN (SCFU) ORDINANCE
There have been comments circulating on social media about the Sanctuary City for the Unborn petition process, specifically comments indicating frustration over the City of Abilene’s requirement regarding number of required signatures, as compared to other cities, to successfully file a petition.
The citizens of Abilene voted our charter into existence, not the city council. It is important that everyone know our voters determined the threshold, not Council. Our citizens chose the language and set “the high bar”. Other cities have lower requirements, others higher. Abilenians set the standard for Abilene.
Our current charter, as it relates to citizen petitions for ordinances was adopted in 1962. The city charter clearly states that if citizens want to enact an ordinance, this is the procedure:
1. Gather the required number of signatures on a petition and turn them in.
The required number is: 10% of registered voters in the City of Abilene at the time of the last municipal election. For the Election of May 1, 2021, there
were 64,829 registered voters in the corporate city limits of Abilene. That means any citizen petition for an ordinance of any type needs 6,483
signatures.
2. File the petition with the City Secretary’s Office.
3. The City Secretary’s Office then has 20 days to certify the signatures are valid and belong to registered voters that live within the City Limits of Abilene.
With regards to the signatures on the petition, a petition signature is invalid if the signer signed the petition earlier than the 180th day before the date the petition is filed. In short, the signatures cannot be older than 6 months. [Texas Election Code 277.002 (e)].
4. Once certification is final, the petition goes to Council.
Council then has 30 days to take a final vote. Within those 30 days, the Charter requires proposed ordinances must be read at two separate meetings and allow for public comment at each meeting.
5. At the second meeting, Council can approve the ordinance as written or send the ordinance to the ballot for voter approval.
If sent to the ballot, State Election Law provides for elections to be held in May or November. The City Council cannot order a special election. That authority rests with the Governor alone in emergency circumstances. While there are provisions in the city charter stating elections must be held between 30 and 90 days after the final council vote, State Law supersedes the 1962 City Charter provisions. (See Texas Election Code 41.001-Uniform Election Dates and 41.0011-Emergency Requiring Early Election).
If the signatures are gathered and certified, I believe sending the matter to a ballot is the proper course of action. A citizen petition for an ordinance requires the signatures of 10% of registered voters. The other 90% of registered voters should have the opportunity to vote on the matter. If our citizens want an SCFU Ordinance at this moment in time, they can sign the petition in the required numbers and vote for it once it appears on the ballot.
Regardless of where you stand on this issue, be that for it, against it, or somewhere in between, please honor and respect all involved. Character is revealed in how one handles adversity. Citizens have every right to pursue this ordinance. They also have the right to question it. I wholeheartedly support the right to do either, but please stop the disrespectful rhetoric.
Don’t allow outside forces to divide us. Attacking people who have different ideas is not the way. Vilifying those with different thoughts on SCFU (including many who firmly believe in the sanctity of life from conception) does not serve any good purpose.
Some in our town have questions and concerns. Others do not. Some people have misgivings, others do not. Abilene is a place that encourages the free exchange of ideas in an honorable fashion.
There are varying opinions on the Sanctuary City Ordinance, and that is why we have this petition process. The voters of Abilene can and should decide this matter.
Abilene has proven time and again that we can face any trial and bear any burden when we stick together.
Regardless of where you stand on the SCFU issue, I encourage everyone to remember this: God values everyone involved in this issue equally. All were created in His image, just as you were. Jesus’ sacrifice was for everyone.
Sincerely,
Lynn Beard
