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Consider Directing the City Clerk to Work with the City Attorney in Crafting an Ordinance to Provide City Funding to Pay Administrative Election Costs to Reduce Financial Barriers of Running for Office. (Councilmember Daysog) [Not heard on December 6, 2016]
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COUNCIL REFERRAL FORM
Name of Councilmember requesting referral: Tony Daysog
Date of submission to City Clerk (must be submitted before 6:00 p.m. on the Monday two weeks before the Council meeting requested): November 22, 2016
Council Meeting date: December 6, 2016
Brief description of the subject to be printed on the agenda, sufficient to inform the City Council and public of the nature of the referral: Direct City Clerk to work with City Attorney in crafting an Ordinance to provide City funding to pay administrative election costs to reduce financial barriers of running for office focusing on these related items:
[A] (1) fully covering the direct and indirect City Clerk administrative electoral costs of eight City Council candidates and; and, (2) if there are more than eight candidates, apportioning the incremental cost above the cost covering the first eight candidates equally among all candidates.1
[B] (1) fully covering the direct and indirect City Clerk administrative electoral costs of four mayoral candidates and ; and, (2) if there are more than four candidates, apportioning the incremental cost above the cost covering the first four candidates equally among all candidates.
[C] (1) fully covering the direct and indirect City Clerk administrative electoral costs of four City Treasurer candidates and ; and, (2) if there are more than four candidates, apportioning the incremental cost above the cost covering the first four candidates equally among all candidates.
[D] (1) fully covering the direct and indirect City Clerk administrative electoral costs of four City Auditor candidates and ; and, (2) if there are more than four candidates, apportioning the incremental cost above the cost covering the first four candidates equally among all candidates.
[E] Referencing the short-name of this ordinance (“local campaign finance reform”) and the Ordinance number, the City Clerk shall include the above information [A through D] in any notices to the public (including the electronic and print media) pertaining to informing residents of filing periods and requirements for City Council, Mayoral, City Treasurer, and City Auditor up-coming elections.
Example: “Per the City of Alameda’s ordinance, the administrative cost for the first eight Council candidates will be fully covered, and, if there are more than eight candidates, the incremental administrative cost above the first set of candidates will be calculated and then apportioned equally amongst all candidates. Calculation and apportionment of administrative costs for the Mayoral election are similarly conducted, except that in the case of the mayoral election, the triggering threshold is four candidates.”
Background: By “direct and indirect City Clerk administrative electoral costs”, I mean only those costs associated with the Office of the City Clerk, as it relates to administering City Council\Mayoral\City Treasurer\City Auditor elections. Examples of such costs include the $100 candidate registration filing fee, as well as the election ballot\voter guide printing cost the City Clerk’s office administers on behalf of the Alameda County Voter Registrar’s Office.
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1 If the City Clerk’s administrative cost amounts to $1000 per candidate ($900 printing cost and $100 filing fee) and there are eight candidates, then each candidate is not required to submit payment to the City Clerk’s office. If there are ten candidates, then the incremental cost associated with the ninth and tenth candidate is $2,000, which is then apportioned equally across all ten candidates, resulting in a bill $200 per candidate.