Firefighters appeal judge’s decision

Half Moon Bay firefighters Monday appealed the decision by a county superior court judge to throw out their referendum on contracting firefighting services, reports the County Times.

[Duane] Reno [one of two attorneys representing firefighters’ interests]said Judge Weiner was wrong about the statutory requirements for referendum language, overstating the language needed for an accurate petition. He was confident an appeals judge would agree.

"The judge has not interpreted this statute realistically. She’s saying we have to do more than what the statute says," he said.

If an appeals court rules that the firefighters had the right to a referendum all along, the results could be messy. Were the Half Moon Bay fire district permitted to proceed with a Cal Fire contract in spite of the case being heard in court, the fire district could be required to reconstitute itself and then hold the referendum, according to Reno. Alternatively, voters could face a new kind of referendum question on whether to undo the Cal Fire contract decision once it had already been done.

And things could really get complicated (or perhaps a lot simpler) if firefighters are able to put a majority of their supporters on combined Half Moon Bay and Point Montara fire boards.

Click below to see a copy of the judge’s decision.