Aberdeen's City Council and Board of Elections discussed changing election guidelines Wednesday in light of the unusual election results of last November, but Mayor Patrick McGrady assured the charter would not be changed overnight or without a public hearing.
The three members of the city's Board of Elections called a special meeting Wednesday to suggest plans to deal with future runoff elections and "tighten up" some election-related language, elections chairwoman Gina Bantum said.
She said the board talked with city attorney Fred Sussman about the difference between a runoff and a special election, explaining that a runoff would be for a situation like Aberdeen's, in which two council candidates tied for one of the seats, while a special election would be for a situation such as a referendum.
Bantum suggested holding a runoff election as soon as possible after the original election, "because we don't want to let these things go," and making it as identical to the original election as possible.
Bantum said they want to avoid another scenario like November's, in which candidates Sean DeBonis and Stephen Smith tied and the council failed to fill the fourth council seat for nearly half a year.
Board member Mark Schlottman agreed with Bantum, noting an election could potentially end with all the seats tied, not just one.
"Who would have thought we would have had this [last tie], even after the absentee and provisionals were counted," Schlottman said.
Bantum also questioned a rule requiring a 72-hour turnaround for validating a new candidate, which she said does not work any more because deadlines should be measured in business days as a general rule instead.
Certifying a candidate's validity "has become too arduous," Bantum said. "We are volunteers, and I think we can tighten up these candidacy filings."
The board also asked for some type of enforcement power, explaining candidates sometimes violate rules, but the board has little authority to stop violators.
In the last election, for example, candidates left campaign literature in the bathrooms of the polling site, Bantum said.
"We have no teeth. We do it based on the honesty of the candidate," Bantum said about how elections are run. Sussman suggested fines for violations, but Bantum said "I don't want to have eight offenses."
Councilman Melvin Taylor wondered if a sign could be put up stating that the candidate is responsible for his campaign employees or volunteers or being very specific in the charter that campaign materials are prohibited in the entire interior of the polling site, for example.
Councilwoman Sandra Landbeck also brought up the rapid change-over for a new council, suggesting the oath of office take place on the second Monday in January, not immediately after the election.
She said it would give the mayor a chance to move out of his office and the council to say goodbye.
Schlottman added the outgoing councilperson or mayor could even help mentor his or her replacement before leaving.
Landbeck said she, for example, would never get to say goodbye, because "I don't plan to run again."
Taylor asked if new councilman Steve Goodin, who was appointed by Mayor Patrick McGrady, would need to go through the same ethics and background check as a regular candidate.
Schlottman said he does not believe a previous appointee, Stephen Smith, who was appointed to the council to serve out Bruce Garner's term after Garner died, had to go through the background check.
Taylor said he thinks an appointee should be put through the same check.
McGrady said the discussions about the charter will continue.
"We are not going to hammer any charter changes through," he said, adding he hopes to have a public hearing even though one is not required, to make sure everyone understands any changes and why they are being made.