PORTLAND, Maine - The city clerk of Maine's largest city says she's sorry for giving the wrong deadline for petition submissions to activists pursuing a pair of citizen initiatives.
Katherine Jones' mistake nearly halted efforts by the Portland activists to adopt a rent stabilization ordinance and give residents more leverage in rezoning decisions.
The Portland Press Herald says Jones apologized on Monday. But her error appears to have been canceled out by another mistake by the city.
A city attorney found that an ordinance requiring a 90-day pre-election public hearing was not enacted legally. The City Council must now hold a hearing by Sept. 6 for the housing measures to be able to make it to the November ballot. The council voted on Monday to do that.