TUSTIN : Council Gives 1st OK on Elections Change

With a 3-2 vote, the City Council took the first step toward moving its next election from November, 1990, to next April.

The council is scheduled to give final approval to the change at its Nov. 6 meeting, and the Board of Supervisors probably will consider the issue in late November.

If the supervisors approve the change, Tustin would be the first city in the county to move its election from November to April rather than vice versa. Most cities have consolidated local elections with general elections to save money and increase voter turnout.

The last time Tustin held city elections in April was in 1986 when 20% of the registered voters went to the polls. When the elections were moved to November, 74% of the registered voters cast ballots in that general election.

The registrar of voters office estimates that holding a special city election will cost the city an additional $13,000 to $16,000, but Councilman Richard B. Edgar, who proposed the change, said he believes that the extra money will be worth it.

He said separate city elections attract voters who are more concerned and informed about local issues. Out of 15,900 Tustin voters who went to the polls in November, 1988, about 4,000 did not vote for council members, he said.

“Let’s let the people who care about city government elect the council,” Edgar said.

Edgar also argued that it costs more to campaign for local campaigns in November than in April. Council candidates must spend more in November because city issues get lost in the shuffle of national and state campaigns and higher costs make it prohibitive for average citizens to run for office, he said.

Carl Kasalek, chairman of Citizens for a Responsible Tustin Council, also supported the change. “I personally believe in quality, not quantity voters,” he said.

But Councilmen John Kelly and Earl J. Prescott, who cast the two dissenting votes Monday night, said it is elitist to say voters in April elections are more informed than those in November elections.

“It is an insult to the majority of voters in Tustin to change because you’ll get a more informed voter,” Kelly said. “It should be our focus to encourage the people of Tustin, all the people of Tustin to vote.”