AgdaPkt 2020-08-17 Special Joint SA PFA

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S.A. - Page 2 of 10 a certificate of these facts to the governing body of the city, (Attachment B), who may then at a regular or special meeting before the election, adopt one of three actions. The City Council may: 1. Appoint to the office the person who has been nominated, if there is only one; or 2. Appoint to the office an eligible elector if no one has been nominated; or 3. Hold the election, if either no one or only one person has been nominated. In addition to presenting the certificate to the City Council, the City Clerk is also required to publish these facts in a general circulation newspaper at least five days prior to any action taken by the City Council, in accordance with California Government Code Section 6061. The City Clerk certificate (Attachment B) was published in the San Mateo Daily Journal on Sunday, August 9, 2020. California Election Code Section 10229 states that if the City Council does not make an appointment by the 75th day before the election, August 20, 2020, the election shall be held and the candidate will appear on the ballot. If an election is held, the City Clerk will hold a write-in candidate period during which potential write-in candidates can file nomination documents with the City Clerk. The write-in period would be from Monday, September 7, 2020 — Tuesday, October 20, 2020. Per the Election Code, if the City Council makes an appointment the City Clerk will not accept for filing any statement of write-in candidacy submitted after the appointment is made. In determining which approach to take, the City Council may wish to consider three factors: potential for voter confusion, perceived precedent for future election, and cost to the City. Given that this is the first election for the City under City Council districts, we may experience voter confusion even though educational outreach has occurred and will continue. Voters will only be able to vote for candidates in their district, not on candidates in other districts. If the City Council were to decide to appoint the candidate to District 4 rather than hold an election for that district, voters in District 4 would not be able to vote for any City Council member. This could exacerbate voter confusion. It also would deprive voters of their ability to express themselves by not voting for a candidate, or by supporting a write-in candidate. The second issue is perceived precedence. Appointing the only individual who has been nominated could be perceived as setting a precedent for the future. While this might not have the weight of a legal precedent, past City actions are often used to guide future decisions. A final consideration is cost. Appointing the only individual who has been nominated would save the City approximately $15,000-18,000. As noted in the fiscal impact section below, funding has already been allocated for the election. The potential savings is minor in contrast to the City's $160 million operating budget. FISCAL IMPACT The FY 2020-21 Adopted Budget includes funding for elections in four districts. If the City Council chooses to appoint the only candidate in District 4, Michael Smith, to the office of City Council, the contest will not appear on the November 3, 2020 ballot. The San Mateo County Elections office has been contracted to Page 2 of 4 City of Redwood City 1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City, CA. 94063 Tel: 650-780-7000 www.redwoodcity.ore FA