Why is Palmer against police referendum?

You've heard by now that the New Jersey Supreme Court yesterday overturned Mayor Doug Palmer's 2004 attempt to block a referendum that challenged his decision to do away with the city's deputy police chiefs.
The move solidified the power that Trenton's controversial civilian police director has over the department.
Critics of the move used a provision in New Jersey law that allows voters to collect signatures and force a citywide referendum asking that a particular city ordinance be overturned.
Palmer and the city council went to court to block that vote in 2004, and the case culminated yesterday with the Supreme Court restoring sweeping rights for voters to use this referendum process throughout the state.
Why did Palmer spend so much taxpayer money challenging this? Why did he care in the first place if voters had a say?
The best theory we can come up with is that Doug Palmer knows that the civilian police director system in Trenton has fallen out of favor. That may or may not be tied directly to the personality and performance of the person who has the job.
Putting this referendum out to voters could be the first step in a groundswell among the public to going back to the old days of having a traditional police chief.

Why is Palmer against police referendum?

You've heard by now that the New Jersey Supreme Court yesterday overturned Mayor Doug Palmer's 2004 attempt to block a referendum that challenged his decision to do away with the city's deputy police chiefs.
The move solidified the power that Trenton's controversial civilian police director has over the department.
Critics of the move used a provision in New Jersey law that allows voters to collect signatures and force a citywide referendum asking that a particular city ordinance be overturned.
Palmer and the city council went to court to block that vote in 2004, and the case culminated yesterday with the Supreme Court restoring sweeping rights for voters to use this referendum process throughout the state.
Why did Palmer spend so much taxpayer money challenging this? Why did he care in the first place if voters had a say?
The best theory we can come up with is that Doug Palmer knows that the civilian police director system in Trenton has fallen out of favor. That may or may not be tied directly to the personality and performance of the person who has the job.
Putting this referendum out to voters could be the first step in a groundswell among the public to going back to the old days of having a traditional police chief.