TIME to RUN: Contested or Uncontested Piedmont City Council and School Board Elections
Now is the time for Piedmonters to step up and seek election to the City Council and Board of Education. Candidates are needed to fill available seats and guarantee an active and informative election.
Council members recently stated they wanted more and different Piedmonters to seek election to the City Council instead of formerly elected Council members who might be better known. The Council wanted more citizens to have an opportunity to be elected to the City Council. During recent City Council discussions of the City Charter, the City Council specifically added a proposed provision limiting City Council members ability to seek a return to the Council until 8 years had intervened rather than four years, noting that more Piedmonters should have a chance to be elected.
The time is now to be a candidate for City Council and Board of Education.
The Board of Education, according to Piedmont staff, declined a proposed change to the City Charter to exclude former Board members’ as candidates for 8 years, thus former Board members would continue to be able to seek a return to the Board following a 4 year hiatus. Apparently, there was no issue regarding former Board members seeking re-election to the Board of Education.
Numerous potential candidates are Piedmonters who have been active on commissions, committees, as volunteers and activists proving they care about their community and its schools.
There are 3 positions on the City Council and 2 positions on the School Board to be filled at the election on November 6, 2018.
Uncontested elections:
A number of Piedmont City Council and School Board elections have been uncontested in the past, meaning only enough candidates seek election to fill the open positions and all candidates are automatically elected to the positions they seek. Uncontested elections engender less interest and little discussion of issues, as there is no competition or true election by voters.
ISSUES:
Some City Council issues:
- potential new bond ballot measure for sports facilities
- City Charter adherence
- zoning changes and construction regulations
- taxation increases
- garbage rates and contract terms
- cell tower installations
- police officers in schools
- employee hiring and oversight
- facility improvements
- citizen involvement – open participatory processes
- road and sidewalk repairs
- fire and emergency safety
- environmental matters
Some School Board issues:
- school construction within constraints of bond funding limits
- student population changes
- revenues sufficient to support operations and programs
- comparisons to other public and private schools
- school safety
- police officers in schools
- taxation increases
- community engagement and participation through information to community
- personnel selections
- prompt responses to students and parents concerns
- communications between school and home
- community use of school facilities
- environmental matters
The time to begin the process is now.
Those interested in Piedmont elective office must act before the August 10 deadline in completing and filing the necessary paperwork to be a candidate in the November 6, 2018 election.
Candidates need to contact the City Clerk at 420-3040 for an appointment to receive filing information including taking out and returning candidate paperwork. The session with the City Clerk is projected to take one hour.
Procedures for Candidate’s
The City of Piedmont will hold its General Municipal Election on November 6, 2018. The nomination period for the three (3) vacancies on the Piedmont City Council and two (2) vacancies on the Board of Education opened on Monday, July 16th. The deadline for submitting completed paperwork is:
Friday, August 10th at 5:00 p.m. with the City Clerk at Piedmont City Hall, 120 Vista Avenue.
There is no cost to candidates to file for election.
The California Elections Code requires that nomination papers be issued in person to the prospective candidate at City Hall.
It is strongly recommended that residents wishing to take out or return candidate paperwork set an appointment with the City Clerk. 510/420-3040
This ensures prompt service for the candidate and allows the Clerk to devote full attention to the process. Residents without appointments will be seen on a time available basis and may be subject to interruption. Contact the Piedmont City Clerk at 510/420-3040.
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The Piedmont “Guide to Nomination and Candidacy” is > HERE.
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If an incumbent does not file for re-election, of which there are 2 incumbents* for the 3 Council vacancies and 2 incumbents for the two Board of Education vacancies, the nomination period will be extended by 5 days as below:
– Elections Code Section 10225.
(a) Notwithstanding Sections 10220 and 10224, if nomination papers for an incumbent officer of the city are not filed by or on the 88th day before the election, during normal business hours, as posted, the voters shall have until the 83rd day before the election during normal business hours, as posted, to nominate candidates other than the person who was the incumbent on the 88th day, for that incumbent’s elective office.
- *On the City Council there is presently an appointed Council member, who is not considered by law to be an incumbent (Section 13107), but who can seek one of the 3 vacant seats on the Council at the November 2018 Election.
If there is a tie vote Section 15651 shall apply:
In the event of a tie-vote for any office which is being voted on at such General Municipal Election, the provisions of Section 15651 of the California Elections Code, relating to determining the tie by lot, shall apply.
Residents with questions about the process or wishing to make an appointment should call the City Clerk’s office at (510) 420-3040.
To add to the list of City Council issues, I think this is potentially an election for mayor in 2024. In Piedmont, when there is an open seat, the candidate with the most votes becomes mayor in the last two years of their second term, assuming they get re-elected. Councilmembers have always been re-elected in Piedmont. So, a candidate’s first run for office determines their eligibility for mayor in their second term. If the election is uncontested, the sole candidate is virtually guaranteed to become mayor. As we saw this past year, such elections can have long-term consequences.