On July 1, the Tempe City Council sat stonefaced as dozens of people blasted a proposed change to city code that they worried would limit freedom of assembly and crack down on mutual aid groups that hold events in city parks. After the hours-long public haranguing was done, the council voted unanimously to pass the new parks ordinance.

The backlash after the vote has been even stronger than the backlash that preceded it. The vote sparked a petition campaign to repeal the new special events ordinance, which critics say invests too much power in city staffers who can unilaterally decide who can and can’t gather in city parks. Last week, the city clerk officially approved the repeal measure to be placed on the ballot for the city’s March 10 elections.

Suddenly, Tempe’s city councilmembe

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