Fayetteville City Clerk's office certifies signatures — civil rights ordinance will go to a public vote
The Fayetteville City Clerk's office has certified that enough signatures were gathered to trigger a special election on Fayetteville's new civil rights ordinance, the Fayetteville Flyer reports. The effort to force a popular vote on the ordinance, led by a Repeal 119, a church-led group, gathered 5,714 signatures. Petitioners needed 4,905; the City Clerk's office began certifying the signatures last week and stopped at the end of the day Friday once enough signatures had been validated. The ordinance to discourage discrimination in housing and employment passed in the City Council 6-2 last month. The vote came after 10 hours of discussion, with many conservatives furious because the classes of people protected included gay and transgender people.