San Diego
The San Diego City Council on Monday tabled a proposal to change the dates of council elections to even-numbered years, to coincide with statewide and national elections. The vote was 5-4, with Mayor Roger Hedgecock and council members Mike Gotch, William Jones and Judy McCarty opposed.
The action followed a report by City Clerk Chuck Abdelnour that said the city could cut its election expenses by more than half by changing the elections to even-numbered years, and predicted that such a move would reverse the trend of dwindling voter turnout that has continued in council elections since 1979. Councilman Ed Struiksma, who led the movement to table the proposal, said he wanted to consider it “at some point in the future, if the majority of the council thinks it’s necessary, rather than working on it under the gun.”
“The system we have now is the best system, and it should continue,” Struiksma said.
Councilman William Jones, however, said the council “owes it to the taxpayer to take a look at these alternatives.”
Hedgecock said the tabling “is like throwing away all the work the city clerk has done on this so far.”
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