LANGLEY — The clandestine effort to change Langley’s form of government and do away with the position of an elected mayor has gathered enough signatures to force a vote at the ballot box.

Island County election workers said Wednesday they had validated enough signatures from registered voters to call for an election.

Island County Auditor Sheilah Crider said 58 signatures were needed from registered voters within Langley’s two precincts, and the nine petitions that were submitted more than met that mark.

“We have conducted our due diligence … and they have met the threshold,” Crider said.

“We’ve actually verified 72 qualified voters in that district [who signed the petitions],” she said. “They have certainly more than met their minimal threshold.”

On to November

The election on the proposed change of government will be held during the November general election.

Michele Reagan, deputy auditor in the elections department, said state law requires the question be placed on the General Election ballot unless the appropriate legislative body — in this case, the Langley City Council — passes a resolution calling for a special election.

Supporters of the petition drive had originally hoped to have an election during the August primary. But four of five city council members have said they do not support the goal of the petition drive, so a council request for an election before November seems highly unlikely.

The petition drive was the topic of a nearly one-sided debate at the council meeting Monday, with most on the council questioning the need and the timing of the election.

But the talk also highlighted the increasingly fractious relationship between Councilman Robert Gilman and Mayor Paul Samuelson, as Gilman at one point suggested  the mayor was unequipped to lead the city.

Council opposed

Before that point, however, four council members had lined up opposed to the proposed change in the system of government — which would see the city shift from a council-mayor form to a council-manager model.

Councilman Hal Seligson recalled the community forum held last month that featured Ken Carter, the city manager for Carnation, explaining his experience as both a professional manager who worked directly at the behest of a city council, and as an administrator within the “strong mayor” model of government.

Seligson noted how Carter had said both setups worked well, but also noted the irony that the city run by a professional manager relied heavily on assistance from outside of town, including its sister city of Duvall to the north.

“The gentlemen from Carnation represents a city of 1,800 people. Which is bigger than Langley, but isn’t exactly where Batman lives,” Seligson said.

Duvall, by contrast, is a city of about 6,000, and provides police services to Carnation (which also gets sewer treatment services from King County, he said).

“Basically this city that is run by a … professional manager has fewer services, and purchases services, and contracts out for services, with the city that has the amateur mayor,” Seligson said. “So I think there’s a lot to be seen in the reality on the ground.”

Bad timing

Seligson also said the timing wasn’t right for such an important choice.

“At the same time, I really do recognize the right of everyone to petition their government,” he said. “I’m all in favor of that. I just think that those petitions are best done with a bit more time to talk about them.”

“I would favor more open forums where this can be dealt with in greater detail,” Seligson said.

Councilman Bob Waterman said that running a city has been more complex — one of the reasons some behind the petition drive have given for the change to a council-manager model — but also agreed that the timing was bad.

“Any system of government depends a lot on the people, the individuals that are running it,” Waterman said. “I’m sure that there are pros and cons of every system.”

“My dissatisfaction with this is primarily the timing of the petition on the election coming up,” he said. “I just think it’s the wrong time to bring this to an election.”

Councilwoman Fran Abel said she prefers having the chance to vote for mayor; under the council-manager model, the council picks one of its own to serve as mayor.

“It’s become too personalized,” Abel added. “And I think that’s unfortunate.”

Councilwoman Rene Neff said the election would cause turmoil at city hall when Langley was trying to rebound from the sour economy.

“I think that the staff is going to be very, very badly hurt by this,” she said.

An ‘impossible position’

Councilman Robert Gilman — the only council member to sign the petition — said it was time that the city was managed professionally.

“I think a large part of what I’m feeling out of my experience, and I just need to be able to speak my understanding, is that I think we may very well be at a point where it would be helpful for the city to be able to have that kind of professional involvement in the administration,” Gilman said.

Gilman admitted it was a difficult conversation to have, given who was in the room.

“I encouraged Paul to get involved as mayor. I have been a supporter of Paul all along,” Gilman said. “And I’m coming to feel that he’s been put in a position that is an impossible position.”

“I feel that it’s almost unfair to Paul …” Gilman continued.

“I would appreciate you not speak for me,” Samuelson cut in.

“OK, I’m speaking my feeling,” Gilman said, adding that anyone in the mayor’s position would face “the complexity of what city government involves these days.”

Waterman praised Samuelson for doing a “wonderful job” and added that city officials need to continue talking about their roles and responsibilities, noting that there had been “unnecessary competition” at city hall.

“To consider changing the entire system to something new at this point, even though there could be an argument made for it … I think we should focus our efforts on trying to establish a better, cohesive working relationship within the city between the council, the staff and the mayor,” Waterman added.

Edgecliff forces vote

The petition drive appears to be fueled by residents who are unhappy with recent land-use decisions made by the city council.

A review of the petitions shows the first signatures were gathered on April 21, three days after the Langley City Council reinforced its decision to approve the controversial Langley Passage housing project.

Langley Passage, a 20-home subdivision on the city’s northeastern end, was bitterly opposed by residents in the Edgecliff neighborhood. Many of the signatures on the petitions submitted to the county were from Edgecliff residents

Out of the 76 signatures on the ballot, at least 34 voters live in the Edgecliff neighborhood. (An exact number of Edgecliff residents could not be determined, as some of those who signed the petition gave a post office box and not a street address.)

Another eight people who signed the petitions are Creekside Terrace residents. Some who live in Creekside Terrace have been angry over the council’s decision to improve the parking lot at the nearby Langley CMA Church and make it into a part-time park-and-ride lot.

The petition drive has been a secretive affair.

Mark Wahl, a Langley resident who opposed the CMA Church park-and-ride project, was one of the organizers of the petition drive, but he has declined to name others involved in the effort.

County workers said Marty Kortebein, an Edgecliff resident, was their contact for the petition drive.