UPDATE: We have filed a complaint with Second District Court, requesting that the judge reinstate the signatures of 37 residents who have declared they were misled to remove their names from the petition. The petition only lost by 14 signatures, so those names really matter. We need ongoing financial support to continue the legal effort!

This is about growth and voting rights.

We are a group of Clinton citizens who worked tirelessly on a petition that would allow our city to vote on the largest townhome project in Clinton history. The county verified 3,881 of our petition signatures, which exceeded the required number. That’s more people than voted in Clinton’s last local election!

But the city recently announced that the petition failed. That's because the developer hired outside workers to cover the city and get people to remove their names from our petition. We have evidence that some of their signature gatherers used questionable tactics. Dozens of citizens have told us they were misled and mistakenly removed their names.

The removals meant we missed the requirement by just 14 signatures, and now the city will no longer get to vote on the issue.

Our last recourse to preserve the voice of the people is a legal challenge. We’re fighting, because we believe residents deserve a say in how our city grows. We believe thousands of legal signatures should matter.

If we don’t vote, the development will be built as the city council narrowly passed it on their 3-2 vote in August, with 266 townhomes and 75 very small single homes. It will be near other already planned townhomes in West Point, creating a dramatic change on our city’s western side and for the broader region. We are hoping instead for small single homes to support the housing shortage.

All funds will be used for legal fees, and any excess will be donated to area recreation programs.