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Councilmember Peterson felt he could do well in either type of election. He stated that thc <br />at large favors the person well known. He stated he would probably favor a ward or a <br />precinct so a citizen would know who represented them and who they should call. <br /> <br />Commissioner Donovan noted that none of thc present Council lives in the Urban Sep,,ice <br />Area and inquired if the citizens in this area feel they are not being represented. <br /> <br />Councilmember Peterson stated he has not heard anything in particular and that he feels the <br />entire City is represented. He stated one of the dangers of not being at large would be for a <br />Councilmember to become too localized neighborhood wise, and ignoring the City as a <br />whole. <br /> <br />Commissioner Donovan inquired if Council would go to the ward system, would also Park <br />Commissioners, etc. <br /> <br />Discussion ensued regarding surveying residents for their opinion on ward versus at large <br />Council. The Charter also discussed pro-active and reactive and consensus is that they are <br />not going to "go out and create issues". However, this issue has been brought to the <br />Charter's attention and therefore they would be reacting. <br /> <br />Councilmember Peterson reiterated his interest in a primary election. <br /> <br />Commissioner Donovan inquired about requiring a certain number of signatures backing up <br />the candidates running. <br /> <br />Councilmember Peterson thought that may help somewha[ <br /> <br />Chairperson Steffen inquired if increasing the filing fee would make a difference to which <br />Councilmember Peterson stated it would not. <br /> <br />Discussion ensued regarding the voter turn out for primary elections. Consensus was that <br />since the turn-out is usually low, maybe requiring 100 signatures of supporters would be a <br />more simple route to follow and would still prove an actual interest in mrming for a seat on <br />the Council. <br /> <br />Councilmember Peterson suggested putting an article in the Ramsey Resident regarding a <br />ward versus precinct election system and include a "cut-out" for citizen comment. <br /> <br />Chairperson Steffen inquired if the Charter Commission wants to explore this issue further. <br /> <br />Commissioner Goode stated he favors a ward system. <br /> <br />Commissioner Donovan stated he is in favor of discussing this further. The at large <br />appears to be functioning pretty well; however, he was not sure which system he would <br />prefer. <br /> <br />Commissioner Swokowski felt that the maturation of the City will put pressures on to <br />convert to the ward system and felt it is a good idea to explore this issue further. <br /> <br />Commissioner Nelson suggested developing pros and cons on each issue and getting that <br />information out to the citizens. He stated he is in favor of further discussion on this issue. <br /> <br />Commissioner Netzloff stated he is also in favor of further discussion. <br /> <br />Charter Commission/September 16, 1993 <br /> Page 4 of 5 <br /> <br /> <br />