Advertisement Officials: Arena petition backers have enough signatures for vote Mayor Kevin Johnson: Initiative is a Trojan horse Share Shares Copy Link Copy

The backers of an initiative that would put funding for a downtown arena to a vote have enough valid signatures for the issue to qualify for the June ballot, according to election officials.The Sacramento County Registrar of Voters said Friday that 35,257 signatures were submitted by the group Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork, and 22,498 signatures were verified. The backers of the initiative needed 22,165 signatures to qualify.Watch report: Groups ready to battle over Downtown arena petition signaturesThe initiative would require voter approval of public money used to subsidize professional sports stadiums.Judge allows questioning of city leaders in arena fightThe city has offered $212 million in parking revenue, and a handful of properties valued at around $40 million, to the owners of the Kings in exchange for keeping the team in Sacramento and for building a new arena downtown.Officials with STOP said Friday that they look forward to having a dialogue about the direction of Sacramento's future before June's vote."We call on our city’s leaders and elected representatives to cease their unfounded attempts to circumvent the will of the citizens to vote, and to show the public the respect we deserve by engaging in an honest and open dialogue on the issues," STOP said in a statement released to the media.Election officials have until Jan. 28 to present the signature verification findings to the Sacramento City Clerk.County election officials said 715 signatures still need to be counted because a 100 percent count was requested by the city of Sacramento. Those signatures will be counted Tuesday."In my role as the City’s Elections Official, I feel compelled to remind the community that simply reaching this threshold does not conclude the petition validation process," City Clerk Shirley Concolino said.City of Sac files for eminent domain, necessary step toward arena Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson said in a released statement that he has "serious concerns about the integrity of the process" and that "plain and simple -- this initiative is a Trojan horse."The deadline for the signatures to be counted was Jan. 23 in order for the initiative to qualify for the June ballot.Group outlines 'defects' in anti-arena petitionJill Lavine, with the Sacramento County Registrar of Voters, said she brought in extra staff and added extra hours to work days to ensure the count was done by the deadline.