The Observation Deck

Shall Article XIX, Section 2, of the Second Amended Charter of the City of Lakewood be amended to change the date that primary elections would be held in the City of Lakewood to the second Tuesday in September prior to a general municipal election?

Interesting. I think however it all comes down to how much more will it cost to break it up?

I support the idea.

Councilwoman Madigan and I co-sponsored correspondence on this issue at the end of the last term of council. To put it in very simple terms:

Cuyahoga County BOE was encouraging communities to get on a similar election calendar to help simplify their operations. It would also help to reduce costs and improve organization. Could you imagine trying to handle 52 different cities with their own election schedules? Imagine all the temporary workers you have to train, candidates you have to deal with, etc.

Another viewpoint was that you give people a better chance to vet candidates between a September primary and November election as opposed to an October primary and November election. It gives more weight to the general election versus the primary.

IF you haven't seen the ballot yet, this change is one of the last items on the ballot or it at least it was on my absentee.

There is no good reason to vote against this charter amendment (Issue 65). It is motivated purely by economics, but without harm to our election process. Apparently, this idea was offered to many communities in the county by the Board of Elections as a cost saving measure that they will pass on to the communities that go along with it, sort of like a volume discount.

Issue 65 effectively moves up the primary date by 3 or 4 weeks. I can think of only one caveat. Anybody running for election will have to be aware that it may also move up your petition filing date by a similar time frame. It's that simple.

Go for the money savings. Vote YES on Issue 65.

RPD Wrote - "Could you imagine trying to handle 52 different cities with their own election schedules?"

It would only be at most 11 different primary election cycles (the first Tuesday after the first Monday of any month not November).

While I don't believe it would be that much of a difference in costs or streamlined organization, (they will find other ways to spend it, hopefully, more effectively) I agree that this should be supported for the cost savings alone, albeit likely very minor.

The downside as I see it is that if it gets screwed-up all cities will be massively impacted at the same time as opposed to having a problem involving five cities in March then having the problems fixed by the time the next five or so take place in April, May or October.

Steve Davis is correct. This is largely an amendment that falls under the "housekeeping" category.
In this case it's just a way of coordinating the dates of elections so that the County Board can administer them economically while at the same time allowing the same degree of public participation as before.

Stan Austin

Stop the presses! I agree with Steve and Stan.

Seriously, it is not only 11 other days. Cities can and do hold elections any day listed in their charter, not just the first Tuesday. There have been months when there are up to 5 different elections in one month.

To streamline the BOE and save costs for the County, I would like to see this amendment pass.

OMG...The world must be coming to an end!

Now where did I put that banjo?

It's been so long....

It it Kumbayah time yet?

Steve and I agree on something? I thought it was getting cold around here.

Another argument for the issue from the standpoint of of a candidate is that if you lose the primary you will have one less month of campaigning and expenses than you otherwise would have under the current calendar.

On the other side, if you win, you have more time between the primary and the general election to make your case. Better for democracy all the way around I think.

Ryan Patrick Demro wrote:Steve and I agree on something?

Oddly, Ryan and I have agreed on many things, but almost always for COMPLETELY different reasons.


Steve

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Yes Gary, You had better find that banjo my friend...HURRY!

It's almost election day, so I decided to bring this love fest back to the top.

Kumbayah!

No, Gary, don't start playing the Deliverance theme song on that banjo.



Steve

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