Editorial: … And about that 35 days

Wednesday, June 16, 2004 | 9:13 a.m.

We have no quarrel with Judge Cory's granting of the petitioners' request for an extended period in which to gather signatures. We do, however, question the length of the extension they were granted, particularly after elections officials, during hearings leading up to the decision, documented the critical time and staffing pressures they are under.

Judge Cory's own decision states that "individual estimates of (petitioners') man-days lost were extremely difficult to quantify." Nevertheless, he concluded that, because of the "recurring nature of the incidents," the petition drive's leaders lost "literally months of time." He also concurred with the petitioners' testimony that scores of volunteers were driven off by the harassment and that, despite this obstacle, they were closing in on the required number of signatures. We would have wanted to see that testimony backed up with solid proof.

In our view, 35 days was overly generous and smacks of judicial activism. An extension of a week, at the most, would have been sufficient compensation.