Honorable Mayor and Members of the Hermosa Beach City Council Regular Meeting of June 11, 2019
Title
RESOLUTION ADOPTING REGULATIONS FOR
CANDIDATES FOR ELECTIVE OFFICE PERTAINING TO
CANDIDATE STATEMENTS SUBMITTED TO THE VOTERS AT
AN ELECTION TO BE HELD ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2019
(City Clerk Elaine Doerfling)
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Recommended Action:
Recommendation
The City Clerk recommends that the City Council adopt the attached resolution, which, consistent with past policy, establishes a 200-word limit and requires candidates to pay all associated costs with regard to candidate statements for the November 5, 2019 General Municipal Election.
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Background:
California Elections Code Section 13307 allows each candidate for a nonpartisan city elective office to prepare a statement to be included with the voter information guide and mailed to each registered voter. No later than seven days before the opening of the nomination period, State law requires the City Council to adopt a policy regarding the candidates’ obligation for payment for candidate statements and other related matters. The filing period for nomination papers is July 15 through August 9, unless extended, for the upcoming November election. Attached is a draft resolution outlining the candidate statement regulations.
Traditionally, it has been Council policy to require the candidates to cover all costs associated with their statements, and the attached resolution has been prepared assuming that policy would remain unchanged. The City Clerk is required to set the estimated cost of candidate statements prior to the nomination-filing period. The County has indicated it will provide the City Clerk with a cost estimate by the first week in July.
State law permits the Council to authorize an increase of the word limitation for the statement from 200 to 400 words. Past policy has restricted the statements to 200 words, and the attached resolution has been prepared assuming that policy would remain unchanged. The 200-word limit has seemed adequate in the past. Increasing the word limit would increase the cost.
The resolution also accommodates any required translation of statements into one or more foreign languages, pursuant to the federal Voting Rights Act. Hermosa Beach has not been required to do any translations into foreign languages in past elections and it appears the same would hold true for this election. However, since the County has not provided its written confirmation yet, the Clerk has included a provision in the resolution stating that translation and printing “may be required.”
Fiscal Impact:
There is no fiscal impact to the City as candidates pay for their statements.
Attachments:
Resolution
Submitted by: Elaine Doerfling, City Clerk
Noted: Suja Lowenthal, City Manager