Title
Staff Report for the November 6, 2012 General Municipal Election for the City of San Leandro
Staffreport
SUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS
In order to conduct the City’s General Municipal Election on November 6, 2012, the City Council must take these actions:
• adopt a resolution calling for the holding of the General Municipal Election;
• adopt a resolution establishing regulations for candidates; and
• adopt an ordinance establishing candidate nomination procedures.
BACKGROUND
To provide the necessary authorization and direction to staff to conduct the November 6, 2012 General Municipal Election, the City Council must approve several documents. These documents and their purposes are listed below.
RESOLUTION PROVIDING FOR THE HOLDING OF THE GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION
This resolution provides for the holding of the General Municipal Election for the election of the City Councilmembers for Districts 2, 4, and 6. It directs the City Clerk to perform the publications, postings and noticing for the election required by the California Elections Code. The resolution also requests the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to permit the consolidation of the City of San Leandro General Municipal Election with the Statewide General Election; to direct the Alameda County Registrar of Voters to provide election services to the City; and to bill the City for the cost of conducting the election.
RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING REGULATIONS FOR CANDIDATES
This resolution sets the following regulations for candidate statements:
§ establishes a maximum of 200 words for each candidate’s statement of qualifications;
§ disallows any additional candidate materials to be mailed with the Sample Ballot and Voter Pamphlet;
§ sets a deposit amount of $1,400.00, to be paid by candidates at the time of filing nominating papers and candidate statements, for their pro-rata share of the costs of printing, handling, translating and mailing the candidate statements. Following the election, candidates will be refunded any overage or billed for any additional costs.
The City’s election costs are expected to increase beginning with the 2012 election, to comply with a new requirement to translate voter materials into two additional languages: Vietnamese and Tagalog. This requirement also affects the amount of deposit charged to candidates for printing their candidate statement.
ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING ELECTION AND NOMINATION PROCEDURES
Article VI, Section 610 of the Charter of the City of San Leandro states that the Council, by ordinance, may provide for the method of conducting municipal elections. This ordinance provides for the publication of the Notice of Election by the City Clerk, the method of nomination of candidates, filing dates for nomination papers and time extension if an incumbent fails to file. It also sets provisions for the procedure to be used if no candidate files for an office. Pursuant to Government Code Section 36937(a), as this ordinance relates to an election, it is effective immediately upon adoption.
In 2010, the Council adopted Ordinance 2010-005, providing for the conduct of the General Municipal Election using Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). The ordinance remains in effect for this election.
Previous Actions
On April 19, 2010, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2010-005, providing for the conduct of the General Municipal Election using RCV.
Summary of Public Outreach Efforts
The City’s elections web pages have been updated for the upcoming election. The official Notice of Election will be published in the Daily Review. Election information will also be provided to the San Leandro Times, published on the City’s elections web page, and shown on the City’s Government Access Channel 15. Voter information and education for RCV will commence soon.
Fiscal Impacts
The November 2, 2010 General Municipal Election cost the City $177,642, and included the one-time costs for the purchase and implementation of the RCV system.
The 2012 election is expected to cost more than the $92,000 previously estimated, due mainly to the additional translation requirements for voter materials. The FY 2012-13 budget for the election is $110,000.
Budget Authority
$110,000 has been appropriated in the FY 2012-13 General Fund Budget in Account 010-11-031-5890 (Elections).
ATTACHMENTS
None.
PREPARED BY: Marian Handa, City Clerk, City Manager’s Office