Voters to consider cheaper elections vs. crowded ballot and
extra year in office for council members.
This November voters will decide if it is worth $100,000 to give current councilmembers an extra year in office.

The council split on the issue with a 4-3 vote, with Councilmen Bob Dillon, Craig Gartman and Perry Woodward in the minority. The potential charter amendment would lengthen current councilmembers’ terms by one year, meaning those up for election in 2009 would move to 2010, and those up in 2011 to 2012.

Woodward called the move a “ruse,” and Gartman said it was a surreptitious way for his colleagues to secure another term. But Mayor Al Pinheiro said the community would decide, and Councilman Peter Arellano pointed to the biannual savings.

“To insinuate that someone wants an extra year is beyond me,” Arellano said. “This whole thing is about saving money and balancing the budget.”

The even-year ballot measure and the library bond measure the council will soon approve for November’s General Election ballot will cost the city $54,000 to $64,000 depending on the number of ballot arguments, according to estimates by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Councilmembers Cat Tucker, Arellano and Bracco will write the argument in favor of even-year elections, and City Attorney Linda Callon said she would find out if Woodward could argue against it.

“Oh, come on, there’s still the First Amendment,” Woodward joked.

At the heart of the debate is whether the city should save money on election costs by piggy-backing on state and federal ballots; currently Gilroy can only consolidate its election costs with four other special districts and cities in the county. Beyond the monetary savings, even years mean a larger, more diverse pool of voters choosing the council because of the greater turnouts that presidential and gubernatorial races command, according to the majority of the council.

Sure, it will save money, the minority conceded, but the shift will also drown out the council race and confuse voters with a busier ballot. It would also increase campaigning costs for local candidates who will have to spend more to distinguish themselves in a sea of signs for state, federal and school board candidates.

“Fiscal responsibility is something I’ve always looked out for, but it goes back to an old saying, ‘Penny wise and pound foolish,’ ” Gartman told the council April 7. He also pointed to precedence: In the November 1974 election, voters approved an amendment to the city charter to shift from even- to odd-year elections “to allow people and candidates to focus on important issues so the voter out there can understand,” Gartman said. This year’s measure would be another amendment to that charter section and would temporarily supersede a separate section specifying four-year term limits.

Another option Woodward and Gartman floated would be to phase in the shift by having candidates run for special, five-year terms in 2009 and 2011. That way everything would be on track by 2016.

Council members up for re-election in 2009

Dion Bracco, Craig Gartman and Peter Arellano

Council members up for re-election in 2011

Mayor Al Pinheiro, Perry Woodward, Bob Dillon and Cat Tucker

$195,579 – Cost to Gilroy for 2007 election for three council races, mayoral race and one ballot measure.

$50,184 – Cost to Morgan Hill for same number of races and one measure in ’06

$16,300 – Number of registered voters in Gilroy

$16,900 – Number of registered voters in Morgan Hill

Source: Gilroy City Clerk, Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters

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