Currently, each of Santa Cruz’s seven City Council seats is filled pursuant to an at large City-wide election. Likewise, City Council recall elections are conducted on an at large City-wide basis. In addition, City Council seats are filled on a plurality vote basis. In other words, those City Council candidates receiving the highest number of votes, whether or not that number constitutes a majority, are elected to the open City Council seats.

This initiative, if adopted by the voters, would amend the Santa Cruz City Charter so as to provide for City Council district elections. The initiative calls for the division of the City into seven City Council districts with each district electing one City Councilmember who must be a qualified elector of the City of Santa Cruz and who must have resided in the district for at least thirty (30) days preceding the opening date for the filing of City Council nomination papers. The initiative also provides for the recall of City Councilmembers by district recall election. Finally, the initiative provides that Councilmembers elected to a district City Council seat must be elected by a majority vote. If the candidate who receives the most votes does not receive a majority (i.e. at least 50% plus 1 of the votes), a runoff election between the first and second place finishers must be conducted. Any such runoff election would be conducted no later than four weeks after the certification of the initial election.

The initiative provides that if a City Councilmember ceases to reside in the district from which he or she was elected, that Councilmember shall forfeit his or her City Council seat. The initiative further provides that should a City Council seat become vacant before the next scheduled general election, the City Council must either fill that vacancy by appointing a qualified elector from the district represented by the vacant City Council seat or by calling for a special election to fill that seat.

The initiative defines the original seven City Council districts. The initiative provides that the City Council shall, by ordinance, adjust the boundaries of the City Council districts in the year following the year in which a federal decennial census is certified to assure that the seven City Council districts continue to be as nearly equal in population as possible. The initiative also provides that any such redistricting shall preserve, to the extent possible, the City Council districts originally established in the initiative itself.

The initiative provides that City Council district elections will commence in November 2000 with the election of Councilmembers from Districts 1 through 4. However, given the fact that this initiative has been scheduled for the November 2000 election, meaning that the initiative cannot be in effect on time for the November 2000 City Council election, City Council district elections for Districts 1 through 4 would commence in November 2004. In the November 2002 election Councilmembers will be elected from Districts 5 through 7.

s/ John Barisone, City Attorney

The exact fiscal impact of district elections cannot be estimated accurately due to variables involving the number of run-off elections which may occur in any given year and/or whether any given vacancy that may occur is filled by appointment or by special election. For purposes of this statement it will be assumed that the maximum fiscal impact would be 4 district elections along with 4 run-off elections. It is further assumed that no ballot measures would be submitted to the voters citywide, that any vacancy that may occur would be filled by appointment rather than election, and that no recall elections would occur.

Currently, a general municipal election involves about 36,000 voters and costs approximately $36,000, or $1.00 per voter. A district election is assumed to involve approximately 5,000 voters and would cost approximately $1.50 per voter. Therefore, the fiscal impact of a district election would be $7,500 per district or $30,000 if 4 district elections were held. In addition, the fiscal impact of a non-consolidated run-off special election would be $30,000 per district, or $6.00 per voter. If all 4 districts required a run-off election the total would be $120,000.

s/ David P. Culver
Director of Finance
City of Santa Cruz