Update: Commission raise questions on charter, election proposals

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A group tasked with evaluating proposed changes to Grand Rapids’ city charter and election processes has a handful of recommendations for officials to consider.

The Task Force on Elected Representation recommends that the city do the following:

Move its local elections from odd- to even-numbered years in an effort to increase voter turnout and representation, and decrease costs.

Change the election process to require general elections even when the leader gets more than 50 percent of the vote.

Require special elections to fill a vacated elected position when an official steps down with more than a year left in their term.

The task force does not recommend a move from three wards to eight, and subsequent expansion from six commissioners to eight.

However, the 12-member body does suggest considering an expansion to four wards with two commissioners per ward.

“Issues of elected representation in Grand Rapids are extremely important," according to a report from the task force. “While we do not believe that the system is drastically broken, we do believe that election processes must continue to be evaluated and improved by the city of Grand Rapids.”

Grand Rapids officials created the task force in July 2019 and tasked its members with spending the rest of the calendar year evaluating a handful of city charter changes proposed by residents to the city commission. The proposals were made largely by two local groups -- Empower the Citizens and GR Democracy Initiative.

Mayor Rosalynn Bliss said the commission was open to exploring the ideas but said such changes would need to be done through a “deliberate and thoughtful process.”

The task force met every two weeks for four months. Its members evaluated each of the four proposed changes against the values of accountability, fairness, engagement and representation.

Their six-page final report details the pros and cons for each proposal, before giving the group’s recommendation. The group also provided additional findings it said could be useful to the city commission.

“There are reform opportunities beyond the scope of our mandate that would improve the democratic nature of our elections and strengthen the city’s relationship with the citizens,” the task force wrote.

“As we reviewed potential electoral reforms, we often found that the Grand Rapids City Charter did not adequately address the needs of the community. From its sexist language to its poorly defined election processes, we believe there is a need to reform the charter to better meet our needs.”

City officials are expected to receive a presentation on the report at a future committee of the whole meeting.

Change election schedule

The group pushing for even-numbered year elections -- Empower the Citizens -- declined an invitation from the city to participate in the task force, calling it a stalling tactic.

Rina Baker and Bonnie Burke began pushing for the change in fall 2018. They have said the switch will increase voter turnout and reduce both voter suppression and public costs.

Opposition to the change have cited the already-significant length of even-year ballots, and raised concerns of local elections becoming partisan, pricier and susceptible to influence from special interest groups.

The task force said even-year elections significantly increase the democratic legitimacy of elections. Participation rates in even-year elections are 3-4 times higher than odd-year elections and are thus more representative of the population.

Switching elections to even-numbered years can be done by a vote of the city commission and doesn’t require a charter amendment, according to the group.

“We believe the city should take this action,” the task force wrote.

In response to the recommendation, Empower the Citizens has released a statement thanking the group and encouraging the commission to listen.

“The mayor and the city commissioners now have the opportunity to demonstrate that they are responsive to the citizens by following the recommendations of the task force," Burke wrote in her statement to the city.

“We thank the mayor and city commission for the timely consideration of this important matter.”

Require general elections

In Grand Rapids, candidates that receive 50 percent or more of the vote during a primary election will win their seat outright without a general election.

That was the case in August 2013 when Senita Lenear took 59 percent of the primary vote and thus avoided a general election en route to a city commission seat representing the Third Ward.

Empower the Citizens asked the commission to require a general run-off between the primary’s top two candidates. The task force agreed.

Local primary elections have “very small” turnouts, the group noted, which leads to less representation of the general population. New information can also come to light between the time of a primary and general election which could change public opinion on a candidate.

The task force determined that requiring general elections is a more representative democratic process.

“We are very pleased that the task force appointed by the city commission in July 2019 has confirmed the position of Empower the Citizens and that of more than 6,000 Grand Rapids registered voters who have already signed the petitions for these two proposals,” Burke wrote to the city.

Special elections

When Dave Allen resigned as a Third Ward commissioner in April 2018, the city commission appointed the Rev. Nathaniel Moody to take his place until the end of 2019.

A proposal from GR Democracy Initiative calls for a change to the city charter to require special elections in place of the appointment process for elected positions vacated mid-term.

The task force recommends a system where a special election is held if a vacancy occurs with more than a year left until the next general election. If there’s less than a year left, an appointment can be made, but that person much run in the next general election to maintain the position.

“Elections represent the will of the people and this is fundamental to democratic legitimacy,” the task force wrote. “The longer the period until the next election, the more need for democratic processes to bestow legitimacy on a new city commissioner.”

The group didn’t indicate if it recommends a change for filling the city comptroller position in the case of a resignation like the case from last year.

Ward expansion

GR Democracy Initiative also proposed the expansion of Grand Rapids’ ward system from three to eight, and the commission from six members to eight.

Don Lee, a leading voice for the initiative, said the goal is to increase representation and elevate everyone’s voice.

The task force saw benefits increasing the size of the commission, like increased connection with citizens, more deliberation and accountability, and lowered barriers to entry for ethnic minorities and women.

But the task force determined that eight single-representative wards wouldn’t be a better system than the current system with two representatives for each of the three wards.

They said reducing ward size would increase the risk of electoral capture by special interest groups. They also referenced studies that show multi-member districts result in increased racial/socioeconomic and viewpoint diversity of representatives and tend to encourage collaboration between representatives.

“Yet we believe the current municipal electoral structure in the city can and should be improved to make it more inclusive and representative,” the task force wrote. "Determining the precise formula for changing the system is beyond the charge of our task force.

While it wasn’t in the scope of their assignment, the task force did review several other commission expansion options and generally supported a four-ward system with two commissioners representing each ward.

In that case, they’d propose an election cycle where both seats in each ward are elected on the same ballot. But there’s dispute in the state over the legality of a ranked choice voting system.

“In multi-member districts, having all the seats in each district run on the same ballot (versus staggering the elections within each district) tends to produce more diverse and representative outcomes than staggered elections for seats within a district,” the task force wrote.

“The legality of ranked choice voting under Michigan state law is currently disputed and therefore we cannot recommend it.”

Throughout the process, the task force evaluated the overall electoral processes and general best practices, and consulted outside experts, reviewed scholarly work and had “robust discussions on structures of fair and representative elections."

The group also held October community meetings in each of the three wards to gain local feedback. Attendance was low but the task force members said they found the discussions to be dynamic and valuable.

“The underlying referendum proposals that spurred the creation of the TFER (Task Force on Elected Representation) is evidence that citizens in Grand Rapids perceive a democracy deficit in our government," the task force wrote.

"This sentiment rang loud and clear to our members in our various interactions with the public.”

Members of the group included: Rick Baker, Jennifer Dirmeyer, Christine Helms-Maletic, Elijah Libbet, Joe Marogil, Paul Mayhue, Rocio Rodriguez, Dave Shaffer, Becca Velazquez-Publes, Danielle Williams, Assistant City Manager Doug Matthews, and City Clerk Joel Hondorp.

The task force was facilitated by Richard Jelier, professor of public administration at Grand Valley State University.

The task force’s full report is available on the city’s website, here.

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