As was reported yesterday, Sacramento Taxpayers Opposed to Pork and Voters for a Fair Deal appear to have enough valid petitions to qualify for the June election.

As the city clerk has made clear, though, that’s a kings worth of nothing unless she says so. Which means there will be legal challenges to the petition language, and probably all kinds of litigousness unforeseen in this River City.

Awesome.

In the meantime, the mayor just now went to Facebook to respond to STOP/VFAD’s presumed success:

“As the City Clerk has made clear, this is merely a procedural step in part of a longer process. Based on everything we have learned: from the way the initiative was purposefully written to delay the entire project as opposed to a straight up or down vote; to the failure to disclose the chief financial contributor behind the effort; to the fact that the vast majority of the money for this initiative comes from sources opposed to Sacramento; to the issues raised about the nature of the petitions; I have serious concerns about the integrity of the process. Plain and simple – this initiative is a Trojan Horse. For Sacramento, there is a great deal at stake: 4000 jobs, transforming downtown, and keeping the Kings in Sacramento. And given what is at stake, coupled with the troubling questions related to integrity of these ballot petitions, the nature in which they were collected, and the true intent of those who are behind the effort, I believe we should take a hard look at the petitions and consider all of the available options to protect the public.”

What’s this mean? Well, for starters, it means he hasn’t lost. Or at least isn’t conceding as much. It also gives us a peek at what The4000's campaign talking points will be if we have a vote in June; they’re basically the same talking points as before.

OK, so I guess there’s no real news here. Stay tuned …