Laserfiche WebLink
Mr. Fart agreed with Ms. Taylor about the issue of the May election. He supported the motion. <br /> <br />Mr. Rayor thanked the committee for giving the council a range of options. He thought the <br />proposal reasonable, and that the public would understand that the approach gave it more <br />choices. <br /> <br />Ms. Bettman thanked the committee for its work. She supported the motion, saying it was <br />sensible for all the reasons stated already. She saw no downside to the recommendation other <br />than the legal hurdles. She said she would support a court challenge on the issue if there was no <br />legislative remedy. <br /> <br />Mayor Torrey said that he was prepared to let the community vote on the issue. He hoped if there <br />were pitfalls to the method, they would be pointed out during election campaign. <br /> <br />Mr. Pap~ said he would vote to the put the issue on the ballot but was not yet sure of his position <br />on the method. <br /> <br /> The motion passed unanimously, 8:0. <br /> <br />Mr. Fart recalled the committee had been asked to change the method of electing councilors and <br />asked how that discussion was going. Mr. Belcher said the committee discussed at-large versus <br />ward elections and agreed to retain ward elections. Mr. Fart wanted the council to consider using <br />the method of electing councilors used in Springfield. <br /> <br /> Ms. Taylor, seconded by Mr. Kelly, moved to direct staff to prepare <br /> information and a resolution to place a charter amendment on the September <br /> 2001 ballot to increase the number of wards and city councilors from eight to <br /> ten. <br /> <br />Ms. Taylor did not support the motion at this time, although she was willing to consider it in the <br />future. <br /> <br />Mr. Kelly did not support the motion. He said that the council already had a challenging time <br />having a good discussion now with eight members, and he thought ten members would further <br />compound that problem. He said that it would be different if the councilors were full-time and had <br />offices downtown where they could "bump into each other in the hall." <br /> <br />Mr. Fart agreed with Ms. Taylor and Mr. Kelly, saying he was willing to have the voters consider <br />the issue but was not personally in favor of the concept. <br /> <br />Ms. Nathanson agreed with the previous speakers, saying she did not favor the increase. If the <br />impetus behind the recommendation was campaign finance reform, that should be its focus, not <br />something as sweeping as an increase in wards. <br /> <br />Mr. Rayor asked how cities with ten wards compared to Eugene's. Mr. Belcher said a few have as <br />many as ten, but many had fewer than eight. <br /> <br /> MINUTES--Eugene City Council April 18, 2001 Page 4 <br /> Work Session <br /> <br /> <br />