AG, alcohol petition okay
By Arthur McLean Editor

Tuesday afternoon, Thomasville received word from the state Attorney General's office that it can use the 2000 municipal election to determine the number of signatures required to petition for an alcohol vote in town.

The AG's conclusion reads: The phrase "last general election of the municipality," as used in Act 2006-380, refers to the regularly scheduled general election municipal election, which for most cities is held on the fourth Tuesday in August, as opposed to the general election for state officials, which is held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The last general election for the city of Thomasville occurred in August 2000.

Mayor Sheldon Day released a statement stating the terms more simply: "The ruling is very clear in the fact that the city's interpretation of the law has been correct from the beginning of the process in regards to [the] number of voters required on a certified petition to trigger an election."

Day's statement went on to say: "Due to the fact that this issue has been debated and discussed for over a year and a half, as well as the fact that we have sought the highest level of legal opinion to ensure the proper conduction of this election process, I am now prepared to ask the council to set the date of the election at our next meeting, Monday, May 14.

"I will ask that we pass the ordinance governing the sale and distribution of alcohol at the same time to ensure that proper regulations in place regardless of the outcome of the election.

"Due to the fact that state law mandates special elections be held only on the 2nd or 4th Tuesday of a given month and the fact that [the] city must give due notice to the Department of Justice of an election along with a number of other public notifications requirements, I will ask the council to consider setting Tuesday, Aug. 14, 2007 as the date of the election.

"This date will allow the city time to fulfill its constitutional requirements in setting an election as well as giving each party in this matter 90 days to appeal to the voters of Thomasville.

"I place my trust in the people of our community to make a fair assessment of this issue and look forward to putting this issue to rest on August 14."

Rob Moore, representing the Citizens Against Alcohol Sales in Thomasville challenged the city's interpretation of the law several months ago. It was at that time that city attorney Edmon McKinley sent a letter to the AG's office requesting clarification of the law regarding which election should be used in determining the number of signatures required on an alcohol sales petition.

CAAST also wrote its own letter to the AG's office following McKinley's letter. That letter was not referenced in the AG's opinion handed down Tuesday.

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