MONROE - A proposal to change the election of city aldermen to an at-large system failed 5-4 at the Monroe Common Council Tuesday.
The charter ordinance needed a two-thirds vote of the council. Alderman Reid Stangel was absent.
Brooke Bauman, Jan Lefevre, Sara Conway and Thurston Hanson voted against.
The vote came after a public hearing, in which several people from the public spoke in opposition to the ordinance, voicing their desire for more direct contact with aldermen and concerns about voting difficulties when voters do not know the candidates.
Several people also voiced concerns about aldermen not living in some areas and thus not having enough understanding about the neighborhoods' issues.
Hanson tried to get the ordinance postponed for 30 to 45 days, after the public hearing.
"A topic this important should be discussed more than once in full council," he said. His motion to postpone a vote on the charter ordinance failed 6-3, with Bauman and Chris Beer joining Hanson to postpone.
Charles Koch, chairman of the Judiciary and Ordinance Review Committee, announced that the committee will pick up the issue again at 5:30 Monday, with the intent of getting the public into the discussion.
Mayor Bill Ross announced that the Common Council will hold a special listening session the following night, Tuesday - also to allow public debate - but no action is expected.
"After that, we should be able to make a decision," Ross said.
The Council did pass unanimously an ordinance that fixes nine ward boundaries to those of the county supervisor districts. That move, however, starts the count down to get the city's election process in order within 60 days, according to redistricting rules. With failure of the charter ordinance, the council voted to postpone a third ordinance, up for a vote Tuesday, to change the city code to fit the at-large election structure.
At the public hearing before the council acted in the ordinances, Tracey Reich, living in Ward 7, spoke against at-large elections. She said more people will be voting on name recognition, which candidates can obtain by spending more money in campaigns, and that socio-economic status binds people together.
"People with incomes two, three, four times mine aren't going to understand what is going on in my neighborhood," she told the council.
Reich also said voters will not take time to know at-large candidates or what platforms they are running on.
"Changing to at-large takes us back to the good old boys network," she added.
Speaking in favor of at-large elections, Ron Marsh said if the city stays with the ward election structure, "there is a vast number who will not be able to vote until 2013." According to Marsh, with the redistricting and staggered elections, about a third will not be able to vote, and about a third of the population will not be represented after 2011.
Tony Gratz, living in Ward 7, said he cannot understand how some wards are going to have representatives under the at-large system, and is concerned that voters will default at the polls to voting for the candidates whose names are listed at the top of the election ballot.
Gratz said he intends to attend the meetings next week to make certain he understands the issues being addressed.
"Maybe we don't need to change the entire system," he said.
Ward structures mean printing more ballots, one for each ward, compared to one ballot for a city-wide at large election, which means the city will spend more for elections. But Gratz said that is not a problem.
"No one has objected to that money being spent now," he added.
The charter ordinance needed a two-thirds vote of the council. Alderman Reid Stangel was absent.
Brooke Bauman, Jan Lefevre, Sara Conway and Thurston Hanson voted against.
The vote came after a public hearing, in which several people from the public spoke in opposition to the ordinance, voicing their desire for more direct contact with aldermen and concerns about voting difficulties when voters do not know the candidates.
Several people also voiced concerns about aldermen not living in some areas and thus not having enough understanding about the neighborhoods' issues.
Hanson tried to get the ordinance postponed for 30 to 45 days, after the public hearing.
"A topic this important should be discussed more than once in full council," he said. His motion to postpone a vote on the charter ordinance failed 6-3, with Bauman and Chris Beer joining Hanson to postpone.
Charles Koch, chairman of the Judiciary and Ordinance Review Committee, announced that the committee will pick up the issue again at 5:30 Monday, with the intent of getting the public into the discussion.
Mayor Bill Ross announced that the Common Council will hold a special listening session the following night, Tuesday - also to allow public debate - but no action is expected.
"After that, we should be able to make a decision," Ross said.
The Council did pass unanimously an ordinance that fixes nine ward boundaries to those of the county supervisor districts. That move, however, starts the count down to get the city's election process in order within 60 days, according to redistricting rules. With failure of the charter ordinance, the council voted to postpone a third ordinance, up for a vote Tuesday, to change the city code to fit the at-large election structure.
At the public hearing before the council acted in the ordinances, Tracey Reich, living in Ward 7, spoke against at-large elections. She said more people will be voting on name recognition, which candidates can obtain by spending more money in campaigns, and that socio-economic status binds people together.
"People with incomes two, three, four times mine aren't going to understand what is going on in my neighborhood," she told the council.
Reich also said voters will not take time to know at-large candidates or what platforms they are running on.
"Changing to at-large takes us back to the good old boys network," she added.
Speaking in favor of at-large elections, Ron Marsh said if the city stays with the ward election structure, "there is a vast number who will not be able to vote until 2013." According to Marsh, with the redistricting and staggered elections, about a third will not be able to vote, and about a third of the population will not be represented after 2011.
Tony Gratz, living in Ward 7, said he cannot understand how some wards are going to have representatives under the at-large system, and is concerned that voters will default at the polls to voting for the candidates whose names are listed at the top of the election ballot.
Gratz said he intends to attend the meetings next week to make certain he understands the issues being addressed.
"Maybe we don't need to change the entire system," he said.
Ward structures mean printing more ballots, one for each ward, compared to one ballot for a city-wide at large election, which means the city will spend more for elections. But Gratz said that is not a problem.
"No one has objected to that money being spent now," he added.