2000-05-31 Charter Commission Minutes

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minutes 05-31-00Page 24 of 54 PRANKE: Jay Kimura ran unopposed. SANTANGELO: Yagong. He won in the primary. Wasn’t put on the general. Wasn’t even on the ballot. RAY: Okay, we beat this one to death? BESS: I’m sorry. Yes, we have beat it but just one other point. Just again focusing on the public and understanding, I don’t know if it’s safe for us to believe that everyone understands what a non-partisan election is but in the proposed language for the ballot, that it be elected in non-partisan elections, I’m just wondering whether it would be clearer to all people if we said that ‘be elected on a non-partisan basis’ and to go one step further and say ‘without regard to political party affiliation’. I don’t know if that makes it any clearer for the public. So, I don’t have a hang up about it but that’s a thought. YUEN: Are you meaning – BESS: I’m looking at your proposed language for ballot. YUEN: For the ballot. BESS: Yes. You say ‘be elected in non-partisan elections’ and I’m just trying to put it so that there is no question about what we’re talking about here for all the public. YUEN: Actually, I have no pride of authorship as far as the Ballot Questions and I want the Commission members to discuss, really, how – I put this out as a draft, as a basis for discussion. I can see saying this a little bit differently. You could say ‘non-partisan election with no party identification on the ballot’. I said that in the Digest to make that a little fuller. In stating the Ballot Question, there’s a trade off between making it brief and making it complete, and I went toward brief in what I did rather than toward complete in the drafts. RAY: That’s not much of an addition to add that language in the Question, to add that language in that section. BESS: That’s what I’m saying. HERKES: I like that language. SANTANGELO: So that would be inserted at ‘be elected without regard to political affiliation in non-partisan elections’. Is that what you’re saying, something like that? Just insert that part right there? BESS: I said ‘be elected on a non-partisan basis without regard to political party affiliation’. RAY: But to put that in the Question language, ‘shall all County officers’, not in the – BESS: Yes, it’s not in the substance; in the proposed language for – IRVINE: What if you just said ‘non-partisan’ – RAY: Right, so to add it in the Question. YUEN: I understand that’s what he wants to do. I don’t think it’s necessary to put it in the Charter to explain that because that’s– BESS: No, I don’t want it in the Charter. YUEN: The Ballot Question is whatever people feel is the best language. RAY: We’re not reviewing the Ballot Questions yet. Keep that in mind when we get to them. file://\\coh01\cohweb\council\charter_commission\minutes\minutes 05-31-00.html7/1/2011