Today history was made in Hickory and Catawba County. At 8:15am the Catawba County Election Board gathered for their regular meeting, but this meeting was special. At this meeting the Catawba County Election Board reviewed and summarily certified the Petition presented by the Citizens for Equity in Government and now we will proceed towards the special election on this issue.
This election cannot take place until a minimum of 60 days have passed and at a maximum of 120 days after the certification and delivery of documents to the City of Hickory. City Manager Mick Berry was present and accepted and signed the document. Two more issues are that this election must take place at least 30 days prior to any Statewide or Federal Elections and the City must provide 45 days notice prior to the scheduled date of the special election, but this 45 days does not include the early voting period that is a prerequisite to any election held in the State of North Carolina.
This is the game changer that I have been addressing over the past couple of years. Although this is a milestone, it is not a victory. We move forward with Humble Responsibility for the citizenry of Hickory.
CITIZENS FOR EQUITY IN GOVERNMENT COMPLETES PETITION DRIVE :
TRUE WARD ELECTIONS FOR HICKORY CITY COUNCIL TO GO ON BALLOT
Hickory , NC - July 3, 2012 - While not planned for today, it is appropriate that the Catawba County Board of Elections certified the Petition for Fair Representation on the eve of Independence Day. Over the past year, Citizens for Equity in Government (CEG) gathered the signatures of 2,707 registered voters, 6% more than required to call for a referendum election to restore Hickory City Council elections from the current modified-at-large system to a true ward system as it was in the original city charter.
“It’s a real step toward improving representative democracy in Hickory city council races,” says CEG spokesperson Billy Sudderth. “The Petition for Fair Representation is about a change in the process of electing representatives that will give the voters of every ward a stronger voice in who represents them on city council.”
In 1967, the Hickory city council voted to change from a true ward system to a modified “at-large” (or blended system) for city council. This means that each of the six wards chooses two candidates in primaries and then those two candidates run city-wide for a seat on the council to represent the ward.
CEG and the 2700+ petition signers say that this at-large system goes against the concept of fair representation by allowing voters from outside a ward to influence the outcome of elections in wards where they do not live. The true ward system promotes fair representation by promoting close ties between ward representatives and constituents, providing immediate service and direct accountability to voters, and eliminating voting blocks.
The pure ward system has been shown to increase citizen participation both in voting and in running for office. Under the current at large system voters feel disenfranchised because they know they are not the ones who are choosing their own ward representative. Candidates are forced to fund expensive city-wide campaigns, which puts the possibility of running for office out of the reach of many potential candidates. And, polls must be open for all six wards for every city-council race under the current system; polls in the pure ward system would be open for only half the wards each election cycle which would cut government spending.
A City-Wide, Non-Partisan, Volunteer Effort
Volunteers with CEG made phone calls, knocked on doors, worked polls, and had tables at events to get signatures on the Petition for Fair Representation. No city resources have been used in mounting the petition. “It’s been an educational process,” Sudderth says. “Our canvassers estimate that more than 80% of the people who were approached and understood the petition signed it.” No organized citizen group has come out to say they oppose the change. Widespread geographical and non-partisan support of the petition is reflected in the signatures of Unaffiliated, Republican, Libertarian and Democratic voters from all six wards and every precinct in City of Hickory.
The 2,707 signatures supporting the true-ward system represent more voter support than any member of the Hickory City Council has gotten in the past 10 years except for the 2005 election where the Lowe's issue was at stake.
Next Steps – Education and A Vote
The certified petition is the first step in restoring the true ward electoral system. The certified petition calls for City of Hickory to hold a referendum election where all registered voters in the City of Hickory can vote for or against the change. Or, just as City Council made the change to a modified-at-large system with their vote in 1967, the current City Council could restore the true ward system with their majority vote saving city taxpayers $47,501, the cost of a city-wide election.
“Citizens for Equity is calling on the city to move forward as soon as possible,” says Sudderth. “We need to get the referendum on the ballot and let the people decide.” A good first step, he adds, would be to put together a four-person team, two from the City Council and two from CEG, to develop the language for the ballot.
“As for us,” Sudderth concludes, “CEG will continue to educate voters on how the true ward system is more fair and more representative.” To learn more about the Petition for Fair Representation and the true-ward system, citizens of Hickory are invited to a roundtable discussion Wednesday, July 11 at 6:00 pm at Ridgeview Library, 706 1st Street SW Hickory , NC 28602.
CEG is a grassroots organization engaging in economic and social justice, educational and cultural efforts in the Hickory area. The CEG was founded to work on behalf of disenfranchised citizens in the Hickory area. CEG’s goal is to ensure participation and representation in the establishment of public policy. Contact Citizens for Equity in Government at 828-308-4669.
1961 -- A lesson in Hickory's History
1967 - How we got where we are today
The History of At-Large voting in Hickory - The HDR articles and Council Minutes Documents
Hal Row's First Talk - CEG discussion about Ward Specific Voting - The Interview
Help Bring Fair Representation Back to the City of Hickory
Mayor Wright - Hal Row - Ward Specific Elections
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Tuesday, July 3, 2012
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5 comments:
There's a lot to take in here. First, this is nothing less than historic! Easily, the "biggest", more substantial event that will shape the future of Hickory than has happened in the past 40+ years - since they first changed to the system we have today. As a supporter of the petition, I think it is important to note that I don't have anything, anything at all, against anybody that currently serves on City Council. On that note, I hope current City Council members don't take the personal offense to citizens playing by the rules and participating in the system by supporting this petition and the issue(s) it represents. Any Council member that does feel personally "attacked" should take a moment to re-evaluate their own priorities.
To serve the community and represent your fellow citizens is a right that is given to someone by the people. On that note, how the people select their representatives is also a decision that should be made by the people. Hickory's founders felt the same way I might add.
The stage is now set for a special election - as required by law. Hickory City Council took away the citizens' right to choose their own representatives in 1967. The current City Council has the ability to restore that right without the citizens having to fight to have it restored.
Over 2700 citizens signed the petition. In the last contested City elections, only an average of 1650 votes elected our sitting Council members. Council expect citizens to respect the decisions made by them as elected officials. I'd submit that It's now time for Council to submit to the will of the citizens and vote themselves to restore Hickory to its original ward-system style of elections. The people are speaking. Will "they" listen?
Only time will tell.
Here we go. Council members are going to trot out the "logic" that since they represent the entire city they should be elected by the entire city. What they don't understand is that this a more of a damning criticism of themselves than it is a supporting argument for keeping the current system.
What does it say about a Council member when they argue their own inability/unwillingness to recognize when it's appropriate to fulfill their role as a City representative and when it's necessary to be an advocate for the constituents in their "home" ward?
When traveling outside of Hickory on city business, they're claiming that they would be unable to represent the entire city since it isn't the entire city that elected them. If they have such a low opinion of their own abilities to rise to the occasion when appropriate maybe they aren't in the right business.
When traveling abroad, Congressman McHenry acts as a representative of the United States. The 8 district in Iowa had no say in electing our congressman. When in Washington, Mr. McHenry shuffles between watching out for our best interests as a district, our best interest as a state, and our best interest as a nation. And yet again, nobody outside of our district has any voice in electing who we choose to represent us. Why can the same logic not be applied to our city representatives? Can our City Council members not differentiate between when it is appropriate to represent the City as a whole and when it's appropriate to advocate for they're ward.
There are too many examples of instances when a Councilman voted contrary to the expressed wishes of a majority of the voters in their own ward. Why? Because as it stands now, and Council member doesn't necessarily need the support of voters in their own ward - not when they can carry each of the other wards.
Mr. Seaver made a blanket statement in the HDR by saying "there are pros and cons to both sides.". He goes on to say that changing the system would in decrease each voters individual voice. OK Mr. Seaver, how?
I'm sick and tired of elected officials making statements like this and the public simply saying "Oh, OK."
I can make the statement that it would actually increase the individual voters voice, Mr. Seaver. It would do so by not having a particular citizens vote cancelled out six times over by votes from the other wards. Secondly, it will ensure that MY ward representative will first and foremost listen to and consider MY opinion and not those opinions of those not responsible for electing them to City Council.
Do you see wht I did there Mr. Seaver? I not only made a statement, I also back up said statement. That's what leaders do.
Bottom line is this. The person who commented above got it right. The privilege of public service is a gift given by the people. It can just as easily be taken back by the people. Our elected officials really should take that into account, before they begin to lecture the citizens on whats bests for us.
Does the Council represent the whole city?
Tent = Money for Union Square
Pools = No money for the Poor/Working Class
Ward Redrawing = Incumbency Protection
Drinking Ordinance = Abolitionist Reactionary Repressed
Graffiti = Union Square
HDDA = Union Square
Farmer's market = Union Square
Open Storage = Viewmont
*** Issues of Council Division***
Lowe's Issue = Viewmont
The Opposition by some towards reining in Slumlords = Protecting Local Rental Property Management
Where does any of this represent the average Working (Middle) Class Citizen in Hickory?
The problems we see in this community are related to the all out assault on the Middle Class by both Local and External forces. We will not rebuild the local economy by Catering to the most wealthy or the most poor in this community. What we must do is work together towards gaining a toehold towards saving and rebuilding our Middle Class, which whether some will admit it or not have been the most affected by this economic downturn.
There are quite a few people in this community that are clueless about this middle class plight.
The Age Warp issue we face in this community fully displays this issue. Those young people coming out of college that don't look toward Hickory as a viable place to have a career are a big percentage of that middle class. Who on council has factored their interests?
Good News Indeed! Finally! I'll wager the whisper campaign has already started since the political career dissipation light has started to flash.
Congratulations to CEG, Hickory Hound, Billy Sudderth and everyone else that was instrumental in bringing this opportunity to fruition.
"Government of the People..." means all of the people, not just a select and privileged few. Time to get involved, time to get informed, time to stand up and assert the rights of a free people in a democratic process!
But the job is only half finished. It is now time to finish the job. That means voting. That means going out, standing up, and participating in this process. You might think it doesn't account for much or that your vote won't matter. It won't, if you don't cast it. You can sit at home and not participate. If that is your choice, so be it. But you have just forfeited your right to gripe, complain, or speak when something happens in this City and you had a chance to change that process and instead, did nothing.
If you do nothing else this year, vote in this election. I hope you vote in November too, since much is at stake. But this election, more than any other single event in the last 40 years, stands as being crucial to breaking the stranglehold of dominance and privilege in Hickory. Its time for the people to have a voice rather than being benignly pacified, ignored wholesale, and dismissed outright.
It starts with changing how their representatives are chosen.
The council could, on their own, vote to change back to a ward representation system. I don't expect this to happen, but it will be interesting to see what they have to say about the issue. If they all march in lockstep, "all of one mind" as Alder Patton once stated, this would be frightening indeed.
Anyone who speaks out on any political issue knows that there are myriad points of view. And if council acts in a monolithic way, we should ask ourselves, what force or forces are at play that don't allow for any independent thought among council members? If we don't hear a reasoned and lively debate on this issue, which is a historic, huge issue, one can only wonder why?
Rudy has already said his piece publicly. What about the others? The public is due some consideration.
There was a medical professional years ago that I knew, that left Hickory because "the power structure here is frightening". This is the moment we can make a difference, don't ignore this.
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