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Chairperson Steffen asked about primaries. <br /> <br />Mayor Hardin stated he would support a primary; however, it would depend on the number <br />of people running. He stated he did not have a set number in mind but he felt that a <br />primary would be beneficial. He suggested that nine people running for an office is <br />ludicrous; a primary would make an election more manageable. He added that this year the <br />only exposure some of the residents got to the candidates was via cable television. He felt <br />it was unfortunate there was not a forum held as has been in the past. <br /> <br />Referring to #3 on the survey, Mayor Hardin felt that this issue deserves some exploration. <br />He hoped the Commission would get some input as the idea of Council positions elected by <br />neighborhoods would be worth looking at, especially since the City has an urban area. <br />Some wards make sense. He wasn't certain that the number of Councilmembers could <br />remain the same if the City was split into wards. He stated there may not be as many <br />wards as precincts as it would chop the City up too much and restrict some people from <br />running for office. <br /> <br />Mr. Pearson stated he liked government to be kept local and that's the feeling he would get <br />if Council were divided by wards. <br /> <br />Mayor Hardin continued with his answers to the survey. With regard to having difficulty <br />reaching the entire City, he felt it gets tougher all the time. He added that he would <br />consider running for office again. He also felt that previously being on the Council helps <br />the campaign process because of name recognition. With regard to how much of the City <br />Mayor Hardin covered door to door - he thought it was less than 10 percent. He covered <br />about 95 to 99 percent of the City with flyers which he felt is an effective tool. Referring to <br />the calendar duration of time spent campaigning, he stated campaigning starts immediately <br />after filing and runs up to the time of the actual election. With regard to favoring a local <br />primary, Mayor Hardin stated he does favor it. It gives voters an opportunity to know the <br />candidates on different levels. With regard to the number of Councilmembers, he felt the <br />number is fine for now. He added it would depend on recommendations from the Charter <br />whether it should go to wards and then whether the number should be changed. Four <br />Councilmembers seems to be manageable; however, if there were six wards, the Council <br />number would obviously change. <br /> <br />Chairperson Steffen asked if where you live affects how you vote on Council issues. If <br />you represented a limited area, would that affect how you vote on Council issues. <br /> <br />Mayor Hardin thought that it would. He stated that when you're dealing with your <br />neighbors/neighborhood you really give the issues extra thought prior to making a <br />decision. If you represent an area, you would have people lobbying you and you would be <br />more personally involved in the issues. <br /> <br />Mr. Pearson felt he too would feel more pressure. He stated when he was on the Council <br />he tried to vote with his best conscience and analyze the whole City, which meant that <br />sometimes he had to vote not in favor of his neighborhood. <br /> <br />Chairperson Steffen asked if their attitude would change if they were only elected by the <br />neighbors. <br /> <br />Mr. Pearson replied certainly. <br /> <br />Charter Commission/January 19, 1995 <br /> Page 3 of 8 <br /> <br /> <br />