Title
Consider Directing Staff to Create a Requirement for Upfront Payment of Candidate Statements if a Candidate for Local Elected Office Has a Balance Due from a Prior Election. (Councilmember Knox White and Vice Mayor Vella) [Not heard on September 6, 20, October 4, 18, November 1, 15, December 6, or 20, 2022]
Body
COUNCIL REFERRAL FORM
The Council can take any of the following actions:
1) Take no action.
2) Refer the matter to staff to schedule as a future City Council agenda item. Concurrence that staff time will be devoted to the item does not signify approval.
3) Take dispositive action only on time sensitive legislative matters if sufficiently noticed such that the public and Council have been provided sufficient information by the published agenda, and no formal published notice of a public hearing is required.
Name of Councilmember(s) requesting referral: John Knox White and Malia Vella
Date of submission to City Clerk (must be submitted before 5:00 p.m. on the Monday two weeks before the Council meeting requested): 4/18/22
Council Meeting date: Sept 6, 2022
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
In order to avoid candidates not paying their debts to the City of Alameda taxpayers for the costs of running for election, I am asking the council to provide direction to staff to amend the appropriate codes, ordinances, rules and processes to require candidates for local elected office who maintain a balance-due for past election costs to pay the full county estimate when filing for election.
Politicians should not be able to avoid paying for commitments to the city taxpayers for past elections that they made by paying a small down payment for a subsequent election while still owing on past debts.
The City Council, at its July 25, 2020 Priority Setting Workshop, established the following 5 priorities for 2021:
1. Preparing Alameda for the future
2. Encouraging economic development across the Island
3. Supporting enhanced livability and quality of life, including addressing the housing crisis and homelessness
4. Protecting core services
5. Ensuring effective and efficient operations
Briefly describe which Council priority the subject falls under and how it relates:
This addresses Items #4: covering agreed upon costs of running municipal elections that every candidate running for office agrees to pay and item #5: Protecting City staff from having to chase outstanding debts from candidates who make repeated promises to pay. Alameda’s election process is based on trust, allowing candidates to pay a $100 down payment towards election costs, an estimate of which are provided at the time, with a promise to pay their costs at the end of the election. It should not be on the City of Alameda residents, businesses and voters to cover not only past costs of people who renege on their commitments while being asked to trust the same individual to pay a future debt by making the same promise that they have failed to keep in elections past.