Resident Kyle Rohen stated why he agreed that May elections should be moved at the Dec. 9 town council meeting. Photo by Reena Singh.
Herndon elections will transition into a November election schedule.
Herndon Town Council voted to amend the town charter at the Dec. 9 meeting to allow for the elections to be held in November rather than May after four public hearings.
The vote was approved 4-2, with Councilmembers David Kirby and Steven Mitchell voting against it and Councilmember Jasbinder Singh voting “present.”
Councilmember Grace Wolf changed the original motion, allowing for council to serve four year terms, because of the amount of opposition that particular item had during the public hearings. However, she said the May elections were “suppressive” for minority voters because it creates confusion and gives them less access to the polls.
“This has been a well discussed issue and a well thought out issue,” she said.
The original proposal changes the number of years the town council and mayor serve - four - as well as staggers them so elections are still held every two years. The vice mayor will be decided by the town council every two years. That part of the proposal was not passed, however.
According to Town Attorney Richard Kaufman, the proposal will go into effect next July if both the town and General Assembly approve the proposal. Since there will be no election in May, the next town election will be held November 2016.
ONE OF THE RESIDENTS opposed to adding additional years to the councilmember and mayoral terms was former Herndon mayor Steve DeBenedittis.
“I think we already have continuity,” he said, referencing a reason some residents agreed with the change. “We have a great professional staff.”
DeBenedittis said the changes would make the town council less accountable for their actions because they would not have to face a vote every two years.
“I don’t think anyone here is unethical, so I would urge you not to vote in favor of this,” he said.
Like several others opposed to the measure, he wanted the residents to take the entire proposal to referendum and have voters decide at the polls.
Those who spoke in favor of the proposal focused on the November elections allowing more people - including minorities - to the polls.
“The voices you need to think about, the voices that would love to speak, are probably working their second job, their second shift,” said resident Cesar Del Aguila, stating that the percentage of voters is always higher during November elections than in May. “It’s healthy to move this May election to November.”
Both Mitchell and Kirby, who voted against the proposal, wanted to see the voters be the ones who decided on whether it should pass.
“Get it on the ballot, get it to the polls and see what the voters really think,” said Kirby, who made a motion to deny the November election change. That motion failed.
SINCE THE BEGINNING of the public hearings, Kirby has mentioned several times that the current council is not the only one to have thought about the proposals the residents have had the opportunity to discuss over the last four meetings.
“It’s always been something that’s been out there, and no other council has dared to touch it,” he said.
Mitchell made the last motion to change 2016 to 2018 in an effort to make sure the current council would not be affected, but made a last minute decision to vote against it. That motion also failed.
“I don’t feel comfortable making this decision,” he said about the original proposal. “I believe the decision should be made by the people.”