Riverside County OKs signatures for “Forever Marilyn” ballot question; here’s what’s next
It will now be up to the Palm Springs City Council to determine whether residents will vote on a ballot measure that would pave the way for the “Forever Marilyn” statue to stay where it is permanently.
City spokesperson Amy Blaisdell confirmed this week that the Riverside County registrar of voters has verified that enough valid signatures were received to put a question on the ballot. It would ask voters whether to amend the city’s Specific Plan planning document to state that Museum Way, the street that has been closed to accommodate the statue, no longer needs to be open to vehicular traffic.
But first, the Palm Springs City Council must decide whether to put the question to voters or instead choose to vote to amend the planning document itself.
After amending the plan, the council could then vote to approve an application to vacate a two-block street called Museum Way where the statue has sat since 2021. That application was submitted by the group “Protect Our Marilyn” that wants to keep the statue in place. The city attorney has said that the city could opt to keep the statue in place on Museum Way permanently once the street is vacated.
The city council is set to make a decision at a special meeting Dec. 2.
If the council does decide to put the question to voters, it must choose whether to hold a special election or include the question on the ballot for a scheduled upcoming election, such as the March primary. Ballinger and others have signaled it would make sense to include on the March ballot so the city would not have to pay the costs of holding a special election.
How many signatures were collected?
The registrar determined that 3,485 valid signatures were collected. That was about 600 more than the 2,886 needed under a state law requiring that proponents of ballot measures gather signatures from 10% of a city’s registered voters to put a question on the ballot. The “Protect Our Marilyn” group submitted 4,666 signatures.
The placement of the statue in the center of Museum Way has been a source of controversy from the start. Opponents formed a group called the Committee to Relocate Marilyn — or CReMa for short — to advocate for the statue to be moved into the Downtown Park just feet from its current location.
The group, which is led by the prominent Palm Springs-based fashion designer Trina Turk, opposes the statue remaining on Museum Way because it interferes with the view of the museum’s exterior from downtown. Some people also have complained that the statue is unbecoming for the city and art museum because it shows a clear view of Forever Marilyn’s underwear.
CReMa has objected to the city’s decision to close the street to place the statue there for a three-year period set to expire in spring 2024. The group has argued that decision was illegal because city law only allows streets to be closed temporarily for special events and that a three-year closure is not temporary in nature.
In 2021, the group filed a lawsuit over the city’s decision to close the street. That case is ongoing after a Riverside County judge’s decision to dismiss the case was overturned by three state appeals court judges in February. The judges found that the city had exceeded its legal authority in greenlighting the closure of the street for three years.
However, Ballinger has said that a vote to amend the city’s Specific Plan followed by one to vacate Museum Way would render the lawsuit moot.
The signature gathering process, meanwhile, brought new controversy, with Turk and her supporters saying the group’s intention to have the statue moved a few hundred feet into the park had been misrepresented by “Protect Our Marilyn.”
They pointed to language on the group’s website which states that a majority of Palm Springs residents want the statue to stay put and not be placed into a warehouse, which Turk has said she does not want. Supporters have claimed that they observed those gathering signatures also misrepresented her group’s goal. That language remains on the website.
“Protect Our Marilyn” is affiliated with PS Resorts, the group that purchased the statue in 2021 and advocates for the interests of the city’s resorts. It has said the state is a major driver of tourism in downtown Palm Springs.
Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the city of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and email him at [email protected].
