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Home My WebLink About26-City Clerk o 'I ~ II ~ 110 I jO CITY OF SAN BERNARDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION From: Rachel G. Clark, City Clerk Subject: Discussion and Possible Action concerning calling a Special Election to fill a Vacancy that will occur in the 4t1l Ward Council seat Dept: City Clerk Date: October 3, 2008 M/CC Meeting Date: October 20, 2008 Synopsis of Previous Council Action: 7/10/06: Resolution 2006-237 was .adopted accepting the resignation of Third Ward Council Member Gordon McGinnis and calling for a special election in the Third Ward and requesting that the Special election be consolidated with the November 7,2006 Statewide General Election Recommended Motion: That the City Clerk and City Attorney's Office proceed with preparing the required Resolution(s) to call for a special election to be held in the 4th Ward on Tuesday, March 17,2009, and that such election be conducted by all mail ballot. Further, that the appropriate Resolution(s) be placed on the December 1, 2008 agenda of the Mayor and Common Council. C('J~ /;} Ch,j Jc Signature Contact person: ~.."h..1 r. ~I..rk phnn~. Avt ~?1n Supporting data attached: Yes Ward: 4th FUNDING REQUIREMENTS: Amount: $39,000 Source: (Acct. No.) 001-032-5502 (At""t't n~c::~rirtinn) J=1,:lMinnc:: (Professional/Contractual Services) Finance: Council Notes: Agenda Item No: ~ lO"Zo-o& o c I I: .1~ I' ill. 1 I I 10 CI1'Y OF SAN BERNARDINO - REQUEST FOR COUNCIL ACTION Staff Report Submitted by: Rachel G. Clark, City Clerk Council meeting of October 20, 2008 Subiect: Discussion and Possible Action concerning calling a Special Election to fill the vacancy that will occur in the 4th Ward Council seat Backe:round: Council member Neil Derry was elected to a seat on the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors and he will be assuming office at noon on Monday, December 1,2008. The vacancy that will be created with the departure of Council member Derry necessitates that a special election be called to fill his unexpired term. Council member Derry's current term expires on March 1,2010. Section l4A of the City Charter provides that a vacancy on the Common Council shall be filled for the unexpired term through the election of a successor Council member. Section 2.56.170 of the Municipal Code states that the Mayor and Common Council shall call a special election to be held on a Tuesday, not less than 90 nor more than 180 days following such a call. If the Mayor and Common Council take action at the December 1, 2008 Council meeting to call a special election, the window for holding the special election falls between March 1, 2009 (90th day) and May 30, 2009 (1 80th day). I recommend that the Mayor and Council consider holding the special election on Tuesday, March 17, 2009, and that it be conducted as a mail ballot election. The reason for recommending that the election take place on March 17, is that if the election is called for March 3 or March 10, the nomination period for either of those two election dates would end on Christmas Day and New Year's Day, respectively. Whenever a deadline falls on a holiday, the deadline is automatically extended to the next working day; however, my concern is that given the fact that the nomination period for either a March 3 or March 10 election would fall during the height of a holiday season, it may pose a problem for potential candidates in filing required documents in a timely manner. By holding the special election on March 17, the nomination period would open on Thursday, December 18,2008 (89th day) and close at noon on Thursday, January 8, 2009 (68th day), thereby allowing candidates ample time after the holiday season to file nomination papers, candidate's statements, and other required documents. I would also recommend that the Mayor and Council consider conducting an all-mail ballot election, to be conducted by the County Registrar of Voters' Office; however, we would also 1 o o o make accommodations to have one or two polling places in the 4th Ward where those voters who prefer to go to a polling place would have the opportunity to 00 that. The County Registrar of Voters' Office estimates that a mail ballot election would cost approximately $33,300 compared to an estimated $145,800 to conduct an election that would require setting up polling places, hiring poll workers, etc. These estimates do not include costs that would be incurred by this office for publication of election notices, translations, and printing of candidate materials. Given the state of the economy and the City's budget, I believe the City would realize considerable savings if this special election were to be conducted by mail ballots. Coupled with the cost savings that could be realized with a mail ballot election is the fact that voting by mail is increasing in popularity and statistics show that a higher voter turnout is realized. Voters do fmd it more convenient to vote by mail as they avoid the rush to the polls on Election Day and avoid lines at the polling place, avoid having to drive to their polling place, and they have the convenience of voting in the privacy of their homes. Those who vote by mail can also track delivery of their voted ballot by going to the Registrar of Voters website. By providing one or two polling places in the 4th Ward, those who prefer the traditional method of voting would be able to go to a polling place or could go to the County Registrar of Voters Office to cast their ballot. Staff and I have met with the Registrar of Voters and her staff and she sees no reason why the canvass of the special election, if it were to occur on March 17,2009, could not be completed soon after the election, thereby giving the new-elected Council member the opportunity to be sworn into office on Monday, April 6, 2009. I have placed this item on today's agenda so that the Mayor and Council can provide this office with direction on how to proceed with planning for the special election. With reduced staffing levels and the need to provide potential candidates with an election calendar and information concerning nomination period, etc., it would assist us to know, with as much advance notice as possible, what your preference is on the matter of holding the election and when it should be held. . I should also note that there is speculation that the Governor may call a special election in either March or June of 2009. Should he call an election for March, there may be an opportunity to consolidate our special election with a statewide election and it would reduce our costs even further. I did place a call to the Governor's Office on October 2 to try to determine whether or not such an election might be taking place; however, no one on his staff had any information to share about a possible election and the general feeling among the Registrar's staff is that he will not call a special election for March. Given the uncertainty of not knowing whether or not there will be a statewide election in March, I would like to request that the Mayor and Council approve our request to hold the special election on March 17,2009, and that it be conducted by mail ballot election and further direct 2 o o o that together with the City Attorney's Office we prepare the necessary Resolutions for the December 1, 2008 meeting of the Mayor and Council. FinancialImoact: $35,000 for a mail ballot election and $95,000 for a traditional, polling place election. Funds were allocated in the FY 08/09 budget for an anticipated election in November 2008; however, such an election was not called. Consequently, there are funds available in the City Clerk's Elections Division to pay for the cost of this required special election. Recommendation: Motion: That the City Clerk and City Attorney's Office proceed with preparin& the required Resolution(s) to call for a special election to be held in the 4 Ward on Tuesday, March 17,2009, and that such election be conducted by all mail ballot. Further, that the appropriate Resolution(s) be placed on the December 1,2008 agenda of the Mayor and Common Council. 3