TUSTIN : Complaint Filed in Election Day Change

Although a group of Tustin residents has dropped a referendum effort to stop the City Council from changing its municipal election date, the issue has come up again.

Alexander Carrassi, a Tustin accountant, filed a complaint this week with the state Fair Political Practices Commission claiming that the council’s decision to hold its election next year in April instead of November violates the state Political Reform Act. A provision of the act prohibits actions that unfairly favor incumbents, he said.

Carrassi said he does not object to holding elections in April, but believes that moving next year’s election will give incumbents an unfair advantage. Challengers will have less time to raise money and organize campaigns, he said.

Mayor Richard B. Edgar and Mayor Pro Tem Ursula E. Kennedy disagree. They say holding April elections will help challengers because local elections are just one item on what is usually a crowded November ballot.

“Moving the elections to April absolutely puts the incumbents in a glass house,” Kennedy said. “Since the (voters’ attention is focused solely) on the city, I think the incumbents receive more scrutiny than they would in any other election.”

The commission has 14 days in which to respond to Carrassi’s complaint, notifying him whether it will take action or require additional time to make a decision, spokeswoman Sandra Michioku said. She said she cannot comment on the complaint until the commission has reviewed it.

The council approved the change in election dates at its Nov. 20 meeting on a 3-0 vote. Councilmen Earl J. Prescott and John Kelly, who oppose April elections, were absent.