Study into elections to begin

Elections are plagued with questions of fairness and efficiency.

Many asked during Glendale’s City Council election, in which 19

candidates vied for seats, if a primary wasn’t in order.

In Burbank, where they now have an all mail-in election, some

question if democracy is being stifled.

The League of Women Voters Glendale/Burbank will ask those and

other probing questions in its year-long survey examining how city

officials are elected in the two neighboring cities.

As part of the study, the League of Women Voters will host a

public forum -- “Does My Vote Count?” -- on Sept. 15 at the Buena

Vista Branch of the Burbank Library, 300 N. Buena Vista St.

Burbank City Clerk Margarita Campos, Glendale City Clerk Ardy

Kassakhian, former Glendale City Clerk Doris Twedt and Glendale

Community College professor Mike Allen will speak at the 7 p.m.

event.

The league began the study in June by gathering a committee of 20

experts in election-related fields, said Chris Carson, a member of

the local league’s board of directors and government director for the

state League of Women Voters.

Some of the topics that the committee will study include the types

of elections held locally -- whether they should be done by majority,

in which a candidate would get a clear majority of the vote, or by

district, where candidates would represent specific portions of the

city.

“People are increasingly concerned that councilmen [in Glendale]

are being elected by 10% of the vote,” Carson said.

Burbank now has an all mail-in election. Burbank also holds

primaries and run-off elections if there’s no clear majority, Carson

said.

“People are also talking about whether there’s an alternative to

having two separate elections,” she said.

The League has always been interested in not only elections, but

how they work, Carson said.

“We decided this was a good time to take a look at elections, just

the general issue,” Carson said. “After the 2000 and 2004 elections,

and concerns about local issues ... its an issue whose time has

come.”

In Glendale, residents have participated in two citywide elections

in the past year. The first, clearing the way for the Americana at

Brand project, was controversial; the second, to elect four city

council members in April, was unwieldy.

But the study might not affect the way Glendale’s elections are

run because the city rewrote the charter recently, and Glendale

voters approved the updates in April.

Clark Magnet High School political science and government teacher

Nick Doom is eager to hear the results of the study. Doom is

considering assigning the forum as an extra-credit assignment for his

students.

“I compare it to Pasadena, which elects by district,” Doom said.

“Burbank has runoff elections. Glendale does not have runoffs or

district elections. I prefer Glendale’s system best -- citywide

elections involve the whole city. I don’t like district elections,

because Glendale is not that spread out, and it shouldn’t be

compartmentalized -- that divides a city, much like how Pasadena is

divided.”

QUESTION

How do you think elections should be held in the city? E-mail your

responses to o7burbankleader @latimes.comf7; mail them to the

Burbank Leader, 111 W. Wilson Ave., Glendale, CA, 91203. Please spell

your name and include your address and phone number for verification

purposes only.