OJAI : Council Votes to Move Election Day
The Ojai City Council voted Tuesday to coordinate city elections with statewide general elections, in hopes of increasing voter participation and saving money.
The council decided to change the municipal election date from the second Tuesday in April in even-numbered years to the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November in even-numbered years.
The 3-2 vote has to be ratified by the council at its next meeting. Voting against the change were Councilman Robert McKinney and Mayor Jim Loebl.
The change would result in Loebl, McKinney, City Clerk Cyndi Reynolds, and City Treasurer Boyd Ford receiving seven-month extensions of their elected terms. Loebl said he needed to gather more information about the merits of having an April election before the council takes a final vote on the issue.
The move would save the city about $9,000 and ease the workload for the city clerk’s office, Ojai City Manager Andy Belknap said.
The 1990 Ojai municipal election drew 27.2% of registered voters, the lowest turnout in at least 12 years, according to city records.
This was not the first time that Ojai has decided to move election day. In 1982, elections were coordinated with statewide polling days, and 76% of the voters turned out. However, the following year the City Council repealed consolidation after council members complained that Ojai issues become obscured when mixed in with general elections.
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