04/27/2021 - Election Voting System Council Work Session Meeting Minutes April 27, 2021
City of Clearwater
Main Library- Council Chambers
100 N. Osceola Avenue
Clearwater, FL 33755
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Meeting Minutes
Tuesday, April 27, 2021
10:00 AM
Special Meeting - Election Voting Systems
Main Library - Council Chambers
Council Work Session
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City of Clearwater
Council Work Session Meeting Minutes April 27, 2021
Roll Call
Present 5 - Mayor Frank Hibbard, Councilmember David Allbritton,
Vice Mayor Hoyt Hamilton, Councilmember Kathleen Beckman,
and Councilmember Mark Bunker
Also Present: William B. Horne II — City Manager, Micah Maxwell —Assistant City
Manager, Michael Delk—Assistant City Manager, Pamela K. Akin City
Attorney, Rosemarie Call — City Clerk, and Nicole Sprague — Deputy
City Clerk.
To provide continuity for research, items are listed in agenda order although not
necessarily discussed in that order.
1. Call to Order— Mayor Hibbard
The meeting was called to order at 10:02 a.m.
It was stated that Dr. Paine was running a few minutes.
The Council recessed from 10:02 a.m. to 10:11 a.m.
2. Presentations — Given.
2. 1 Election Voting Systems Presentation - Dr. Paine
Dr. Paine provided a PowerPoint presentation.
In response to questions, Dr. Paine said one of the strengths of a
single-member district is getting an individual to run in a particular part of
the city. He said one thing to consider when considering changing an
election system is how complicated will it be for voters to understand. A
minority access district is one that has a large enough percentage,
though not a majority, that it would be difficult for a candidate to win an
election without appealing to that community. The standard in the law for
minority access district is 40% or less. Dr. Paine said this community of
interest is polarizing enough to mean something. The city has the ability
to draw districts to collect a community of interest, the districts should
have some logic to ensure people understand. The cost to run in a
primary for a districted election is less, a political newcomer who wins
in the primary will attract political interest to run in the general.
Parochialism is present in single-member districts but, for instance in the
Florida senate, it is harder to be as parochial when the district is larger
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City of Clearwater
Council Work Session Meeting Minutes April 27, 2021
and there are more individuals vying for the senator's attention. Dr. Paine
said there is no magic formula to drawing district lines, there are three
general approaches: natural or familiar boundaries, citizen-led initiative or
staff-led. The City Attorney said council would approve the district lines
and does not need to go to the citizens for approval. Dr. Paine said what
typically drives the change from at-large elections to districts are
concerns with representation and communities of interest, whether racial,
ethnic or geographic. One can design a voting system that when there is
a primary, there is always a general election. From the standpoint of
campaign costs and strategic communication, the candidate will think
about winning the primary and the general elections. A primary runoff
would require a second election if no candidate wins with 50% of the vote.
He said Sarasota adopted a ranked choice voting but cannot implement
the voting system. The City Attorney said the Secretary of State can
approve the voting software and the Florida Legislature would not need to
approve legislation. Dr. Paine said ranked choice voting does not require
the ranking of all candidates, most ranked choice voting models require
ranking the top three. The City Attorney said the City of Sarasota
included requiring a voting system education component in their charter.
Dr. Paine said one argument to move municipal elections to the federal
election cycle is that it will garner more voter participation. An argument
of concern is that municipal races fall at the bottom of the ballot, creating
voter fatigue or ballot drop off. The cost of access for a candidate is lower
in off-cycle elections than those held in conjunction with federal and state
races. He said there is evidence for those who vote in off-cycle municipal
elections know more about ballot questions and candidates than the average
voter who votes in November.
There was council consensus to schedule another work session to
determine the next steps. It was suggested that it be scheduled during the
second meeting in May.
3. City Manager Verbal Reports - None.
4. City Attorney Verbal Reports — None.
5. New Business (items not on the agenda may be brought up asking they be
scheduled for subsequent meetings or work sessions in accordance with Rule 1,
Paragraph 2).
Councilmember Beckman requested consideration to schedule a
discussion regarding the requirement of staff to obtain quotes for solar
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Council Work Session Meeting Minutes April 27, 2021
panel and ev charging station installations when building or remodeling
new city buildings. She said the discussion is needed in order to provide
staff clear corporate direction.
It was stated that the discussion should be held after the presentation by
the energy expert or as part of the strategic planning process.
The City Manager said he will coordinate with staff regarding the
presentation. He said the individual identified to provide the presentation
was not able to attend. Another expert will be scheduled if needed.
6. Closing Comments by Mayor— None.
7. Adjourn
The meeting adjourned at 12:21 p.m.
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City of Clearwater