2014-2016 Herndon Town Council: Steve Mitchell, Grace Wolf, Sheila Olem, Mayor Lisa Merkel, Vice Mayor Jennifer Baker, Dave Kirby, Jasbinder Singh. Photo by Reena Singh.
Herndon residents got a chance to voice their thoughts on possible new election procedures.
Nearly 20 residents spoke about their thoughts on changing the town election to November and moving to staggered four year terms at the Oct. 28 town council meeting.
“Whatever is decided should begin after this group’s term is up,” said Herndon resident Tom Kellner. “This proposal as it now stands should be withdrawn.”
According to the proposal, the mayor and town council’s four year, staggered terms in November will begin with a transitional process in 2016 if the state General Assembly approves it. The town currently holds elections every two years for all council members in May.
The Town Council will not approve of the proposal until Dec. 4 after several hearings, however;
the vice mayor, according to the proposal text, will be chosen by the council every two years following the staggered election.
According to Town Attorney Richard Kaufman, postcards notifying every Herndon resident about the proposal and the public hearings were mailed a week before the meeting
“I think it’s unprecedented to have four public hearings on one single item,” said Mayor Lisa Merkel.
Marcia Bouchard thanked the council for their transparency with the issue, but disagreed that they should serve longer terms.
“That is a long time for someone to step in and do our civic duty,” she said.
She also wanted to know what would happen if a councilmember could only serve two years due to family or job restraints.
“There are some nuances that need to be worked out,” she said.
On the other side, Arthur Nachman thought longer terms would be a great idea for the council and mayor positions.
“Land use issues do not come and go in two year cycles,” he said. “They take much longer.”
The public comment period just for the election public hearing lasted about an hour. According to Council member Steven Mitchell, 14 of the 19 people thought the elections should stay in May - mostly because they were worried that November elections would create partisanship.
“As it stands right now, I don’t think we need to make any changes,” he said.
Other council members did not state their current position of the proposal.
“I think I can say this about the whole council, but I will speak for myself,” said Vice Mayor Jennifer Baker. “My mind is not made up about this.”
She said her vote will depend on what the residents want - but she also challenged future speakers about the issue to present data as to why they agree or disagree with the proposal.
She said there are parts of the proposal she loves and other parts she disagrees with.
“I really want a government that’s both efficient and effective,” she said.
Council member Dave Kirby wanted to squash any rumors that the proposal is so this specific council can serve longer terms.
“This subject is not new for this council or for previous councils,” he said. “I’m looking for public input, period. I’m looking for what the people of Herndon want.
The next public hearing on the proposal will be held at 7 p.m. on Nov. 11 in the council chambers. For more information, visit https://www.herndon-va.gov/Content/Government/Town_Council/town_elections/default.aspx?cnlid=1347.