04-17-1972 - Laserfiche WebLink

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EDISON TRANSMISSION LINE - (Continued) Councilman Herrin's motion, seconded by Councilman Villa, to continue the matter until the next regular Council meeting in order to allow the Edison Cormpany to submit more detailed information, carried on a 6-1 vote, Councilman Patterson dis s enting~ WARD RESIDENCY REQUIREMENT Councilman Herrin stated he can see no FOR COUNCIL CANDIDATES particular value to the one-year residence requirement for Council candidates; that each Councilman is elected by the entire City, and therefore, is responsible for the entire City and not just for his own ward. Mayor Griset stated that he believes each Councilman is responsible for all of the City~ but would not be in favor of changing the ward residency requirement. In response to a question from Councilman Evans, the City Attorney stated that the recent Court decision on residency requirements pertained to national electior~; that in a local election, residence would have a more realistic relationship to the over-all picture; and that the cases referred to evolved around the right to vote as opposed to the right to be a candidate° Councilman Evans stated that, based on the Attorney's opinion, he would be in favor of placing the matter on the November ballot in regard to waiving the one- year ward requirement and retaining the requirement for two years' residency in the City° Councilman Villa stated that, in order to avoid gerrymandering a candidate out of his ward, the ward boundaries should be set a year before the election; that he would not support placing this matter on the ballot because he believes candidates should have one-year residency in the ward they will represent. Councilman Patterson stated that he is more concerned with the requirement that a candidate must be a registered voter for two years; that he would be in favor of requiring a candidate to be a resident of the city for one year, and retain the one-year residency requirement in the ward; that the ward has to have some structure; that he would be in favor of placing the matter on the November ballot and requiring a candidate to be a citizen of vo~ing age for one year. Councilman Evans stated that if the ward boundaries are changed immediately, they will still have to be changed again after the November elections, and asked how much time a candidate would have to move back to his ward in the event he is gerrymandered out. The Attorney stated it would be approximately 60 days. Councilman Patterson moved that the City Attorney be instructed to draft a proposed charter revision clarifying the definition on eligibility of Council candidates° Motion was seconded by Councilman Villa and unanimously carried. CITY COUNCIL -161- April 17, 1972