Eugene is a representative democracy, meaning that we elect representative (as opposed to direct democracy where everyone votes on everything.) A call for direct voter approval on these issues is a call for direct democracy, but basically every modern democratic government is a representative democracy. While we can definitely have a conversation about how well our elected officials are representing us, saying that they are "subverting" democracy by following the democratic principles set out in our charter (and basically every other founding document in country) seems a little hyperbolic.