El Cajon, California, City Council Districts, Measure S (November 2016)
| Measure S: El Cajon City Council Districts |
|---|
|
| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 8, 2016 |
| Status: |
 Approved
|
| Topic: |
| Local elections and campaigns |
| Related articles |
| Local elections and campaigns on the ballot November 8, 2016 ballot measures in California San Diego County, California ballot measures Local charter amendments on the ballot |
| See also |
| El Cajon, California |
A measure creating city council districts was on the ballot for El Cajon voters in San Diego County, California, on November 8, 2016. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of creating geographic districts for city council seats starting with the municipal election to be held in 2018. |
| A no vote was a vote against creating geographic districts for city council seats and, therefore, a vote in favor of keeping council seats at-large. |
Election results
| Measure S | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 18,671 | 69.16% | ||
| No | 8,327 | 30.84% | ||
- Election results from San Diego County Elections Office
Text of measure
Ballot question
The following question appeared on the ballot:[1]
| “ |
Do you approve amending Section 201 of the City of El Cajon Charter to require election of City Council members by geographic districts in which they reside beginning with the general municipal election to be held in 2018? [2] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the El Cajon City Attorney:
| “ |
The City of El Cajon is a charter city and Section 201 of the El Cajon City Charter provides the manner by which the Mayor and Council Members are selected by the voters. Currently, the Mayor is elected directly by all voters in the city every four years, and the Council Members are elected “at large,” meaning that all voters throughout the city choose from among the qualified candidates living anywhere in the City, each serving a four year term. This proposed measure would amend Section 201 of the El Cajon City Charter, eliminating the requirement for at large elections and replacing it with a requirement that the four Council Members shall be elected from districts in which they reside, solely by the residents of that district, beginning with the general municipal election in November of 2018. This proposed charter amendment does not create specific districts or establish procedures for implementation of Section 201 at this time. If this proposed amendment is approved by the voters the City Council will, with input from the public at various open and public meetings, develop and adopt an ordinance to implement district elections and approve the initial boundaries for the four districts, all of which will be in compliance with state and federal voting rights laws. The initial district boundaries are subject to change as necessary at any time but at a minimum they will be re-evaluated and, if necessary, re-drawn following each 10-year United States census beginning with the 2020 decennial census. This measure will not shorten any term of office or change the number of Council Members. If the proposition is approved, district elections would commence in 2018 for one of the council seats and 2020 for the remaining three council seats. In compliance with state laws this measure was placed on the ballot by the City Council of the City of El Cajon and requires approval by the voters. [2] |
” |
| —El Cajon City Attorney[3] | ||
Full text
The full text of the measure is available here.
Support
Supporters
The following individuals signed the official argument in favor of the measure:[3]
- William Wells, Mayor
- Jim Kelly, Trustee, Grossmont Union High School District
- Eric J. Lund, CEO, San Diego East County Chamber of Commerce
Arguments in favor
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in favor of the measure:[3]
| “ |
My name is Bill Wells. I have had the pleasure to serve the City of El Cajon as a City Councilman and as your current Mayor. I believe we have made great strides in improving El Cajon. Our streets are safer, our downtown is vibrant again, and we have made El Cajon a destination for new businesses. New car dealerships, 4-star hotels, and a new hospital are all coming to El Cajon in the coming years. These new amenities will bring news jobs along with improved goods and services for the residents of our city. Today I am asking for your support on a very important issue facing our city, district elections. Your City Council has enthusiastically and unanimously pledged its support for Measure S and we are asking for your support for the good of the city and all its citizens. Measure S will create 4 voting districts for the City of El Cajon. Each district will elect its own City Councilmember. Individual districts will allow each Councilmember to focus their attention on their own neighborhood within the city. It will give individual citizens improved access to their elected representative. It will empower residents by making sure their collective voice is heard through an elected representative who lives in their neighborhood. We have unanimously voted to place Measure S on the ballot to give the citizens of El Cajon more local control over their government. We, along with citizens, community leaders, business owners, and the East County Chamber of Commerce, urge you to vote Yes on Measure S.[2] |
” |
Opposition
Opponents
The following individuals signed the official argument against the measure:[3]
- Robert B. Clark
Arguments against
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in opposition to the measure:[3]
| “ |
Mayor Bill Wells states that the requirement that the four councilmembers must live in the district they represent will allow each member "to focus their attention on their own neighborhood," and would "empower residents" by ensuring their voices are heard by a “neighborhood" representative. Those positive features are not applicable to El Cajon, because of its small size. Chula Vista, which is now in the process of converting to district elections, consists of 52 square miles, and a population of nearly 257,000. El Cajon is just 14.4 square miles, with a population of about 100,000. If a Chula Vista councilmember has difficulty "covering" 52 square miles (with widely-separated neighborhoods), it would certainly be an advantage to manage just one-fourth of the city; i.e., roughly 13 square miles). Why then can't each of the four El Cajon councilmembers “cover" 14.4 miles? One-fourth of that size would be just 3.6 square miles. It should be noted that councilmembers receive a monthly car allowance of $450, which they should give up if Measure S passes. As stated in my argument against the measure, voters would not be empowered, but would lose 75% of their voting power over the city council. [2] |
” |
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the governing officials of El Cajon, California.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms El Cajon Local elections and campaign. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ San Diego Registrar of Voters, "Local Measures for November 8, 2016," accessed September 29, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 San Diego Registrar of Voters, "Measure S," accessed September 29, 2016
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