Agenda - Council - 02/14/1995 - Laserfiche WebLink

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I I I I I I I I I I ! i I I I I I I I Chairperson Steffen asked about primaries. Mayor Hardin stated he would support a primary; however, it would depend on the number of people rff~nning. He stated he did not have a set number in mind but he felt that a primary would be beneficial. He suggested that nine people running for an office is ludicrous; a primary would make an election more manageable. He added that this year the only exposure some of the residents got to the candidates was via cable television. He felt it was unfortunate there was not a forum held as has been in the past. Referring to #3 on the survey, Mayor Hardin felt that this issue deserves some exploration. He hoped the Commission would get some input as the idea of Council positions elected by neighborhoods would be worth looking at, especially since the City has an urban area. Some wards!make sense. He wasn't certain that the number of Councilmembers could remain the slime if the City was split into wards. He stated there may not be as many wards as pr~incts as it would chop the City up too much and restrict some people from running for office. Mr. Pearson ~tated he liked government to be kept local and that's the feeling he would get if Council w6re divided by wards. Mayor Hardi~n continued with his answers to the survey. With regard to having difficulty reaching the~entire City, he felt it gets tougher all the time. He added that he would consider runtting for office again. He also felt that previously being on the Council helps the campaigr~ process because of name recognition. With regard to how much of the City Mayor Hardig covered door to door - he thought it was less than 10 percent. He covered about 95 to 99 percent of the City with flyers which he felt is an effective tool. Referring to the calendar duration of time spent campaigning, he stated campaigning starts immediately after filing arid runs up to the time of the actual election. With regard to favoring a local primary, Ma~}or Hardin stated he does favor it. It gives voters an opportunity to know the candidates ori different levels. With regard to the number of Councilmembers, he felt the number is fir~e for now. He added it would depend on recommendations from the Charter whether it sl~ould go to wards and then whether the number should be changed. Four Councilmembers seems to be manageable; however, if there were six wards, the Council number would obviously change. Chairperson Steffen asked if where you live affects how you vote on Council issues. If you represented a limited area, would that affect how you vote on Council issues. Mayor Hardin thought that it would. He stated that when you're dealing with your neighbors/ne.ighborhood you really give the issues extra thought prior to making a decision. If YOu represent an area, you would have people lobbying you and you would be more personally involved in the issues. Mr. Pearson felt he too would feel more pressure. He stated when he was on the Council he tried to vote with his best conscience and analyze the whole City, which meant that sometimes he'had to vote not in favor of his neighborhood. Chairperson Steffen asked if their attitude would change if they were only elected by the neighbors. Mr. Pearson replied certainly. Charter Commission/January 19, 1995 Page 3 of 8 37