AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF HOMER, ALASKA, AMENDING HOMER CITY CODE CHAPTER 1.24 AND TITLE 4 TO PROVIDE FOR THE ELECTION OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS TO DESIGNATED SEATS.

~~WHEREAS, Currently City Council members are elected at large, but not to designated seats; and~~

~~WHEREAS, Running for a specific seat narrows the field, allows candidates to select their opposition and forces more one on one debate; and~~

~~WHEREAS, When candidates select a seat to run for, each seat becomes an election in itself, which should sharpen the issues and encourage more people to get involved; and~~

~~WHEREAS, The process of electing candidates for a specific seat gives the voters a greater sense of empowerment; and~~

~~WHEREAS, The City Council finds it to be in the best interests of Homer to elect City Council members to designated seats.~~

WHEREAS, Designated seats divides up the candidates, which encourages one on one debate so that voters have a clearer choice; and

WHEREAS, Designated seats allows a candidate to pick a different seat thatn a candidate with whom they share similar philosophy and values; and

WHEREAS, Designated seats allows the candidate the option of not running against someone who they would like to see stay in office; and

WHEREAS, Designated seats present a clearer choice for the voters, and make it easier to understand the positions and differences between candidates.

NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY OF HOMER HEREBY ORDAINS:

Section 1. Section 1.24.010 of the Homer City Code is hereby repealed.

~~1.24.010 Selection of officers.~~ ~~The Mayor and City Council shall be selected as provided for under the Statutes of the State of Alaska and the provisions of the City Code.~~

Section 2. Section 1.24.030 of the Homer City Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

1.24.030 Composition of governing body--Terms of office.

a. The governing body of the City of Homer shall consist of six Councilmembers, two of whom are elected each year and shall serve for a term of three years and until their successors are elected and have qualified. Each Councilmember shall be elected at-large to a seat designated as seat A, seat B, seat C, seat D, seat E, or seat F.

b. The Mayor shall be elected for a two-year term.

c. Persons so elected to office under this chapter shall take office on the first Monday following certification of the election in which that person was elected. There will be a special meeting, held at the regular time, for the purpose of administering the oath of office to the elected candidates.

Section 3. Section 4.10.010 of the Homer City Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

4.10.010 Declaration of Candidacy

a. Time. The period for filing declarations of candidacy shall be August 1st through August 15th. Should August 15th fall on a Saturday or Sunday, then candidates shall have until Monday following to file their declarations as provided in the rules of counting time; definitions.

b. Notice. At least one week preceding the candidate filing period, the City Clerk shall publish a notice announcing that candidacy declarations are available, naming offices and the terms that are open on the next regular election day. The notice shall include:
1. Candidate qualifications.

2. Time for filing declarations.

3. Where to file declarations.

c. Declaration. The City Clerk shall provide a form for declaration purposes which will include candidate's name, residence address, mailing address and telephone number~~. A~~; a statement of City residence, voter qualifications and the name of the office and the date of the election to which he declares himself a candidate; the term of office; the designated seat, if a candidate for city council; ~~and~~ a statement of acceptance of the office if elected; and an acknowledgment of compliance with the State of Alaska Campaign Disclosure Law. The declaration will be signed and dated by the candidate and sealed by a notary. The candidate's name shall be printed as specified on the declaration for candidacy (See ballot form in Section 4.15.100 for prohibitions).

Section 4. Section 4.10.050 of the Homer City Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

4.10.050 Prohibitions.

a. A person may not serve simultaneously in more than one of the offices of as Mayor, Councilmember, Commissioner or member of the Library Advisory Board.

b. No elected municipal official may hold any other municipal office, or municipal employment or elected position in the state or federal government while in office.

c. A person elected or appointed to the office of city mayor or city council member may not be a candidate for another elected city office or for another term for the same city office, except as follows:

1. A person holding such city office may be a candidate for election to the same or a different city office during the last year of the person's term of office; and

2. A person who resigned from the office of city mayor or city council may be a candidate for the same city office only during or after the last year of the term from which the person resigned; and

3. At any time a person may be a candidate for the office of city mayor while simultaneously serving as a city council member, but if elected such person must resign the office of city council prior to assuming the office of mayor.

d. No person may be a candidate for more than one seat on the city council. The City Clerk will reject any declaration of candidacy that would cause a person to be in violation of this subsection.

Section 5. Section 4.15.010 of the Homer City Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

4.15.010 Ballots--Form.

a. Ballots shall be prepared in the manner prescribed for State elections, insofar as such requirements are applicable to nonpartisan elections.

b. City of Homer Official ballots shall be white with a narrow trim of green or, in the case of a hand count election or as determined by the City Clerk, green tinted paper. The ballots shall be numbered in series, the number being placed in an area set off by perforations, known as the ballot stub, for ease of removal. At the top of the ballot shall be printed the words: "Official Ballot of the City of Homer, Alaska," the date of the election, and whether it is a regular or special election.

c. All candidates for the same office and seat shall be shown on one ballot. The title of each office and seat to be filled shall be followed by the printed names of all candidates for that office and seat and a blank for a write-in name ~~the provision shall be made for write-ins equal in number to the positions to be filled~~, except there shall be no provision made for write-ins on a runoff election ballot. The names of candidates shall be printed as they appear upon the candidacy declaration forms except that any honorary or assumed title or prefix shall be omitted, but may include in the candidate's name any nickname or familiar form of a proper name of the candidate. The words "Vote for not more than one” ~~______" with the appropriate number replacing the blank,~~ shall be placed before the lists of candidates for each office. Ballots shall be numbered consecutively and candidate names shall be listed in the order that candidacy declarations are filed.

d. Following the offices and candidates, there shall be placed on the ballot or on separate ballots as the Clerk may determine, all propositions or questions to be voted on. The words "YES" and "NO" shall be placed below the statement of each proposition or question. The Clerk shall determine the number of ballots to be used to present all offices, propositions and questions to the qualified voter.

e. The clerk shall have printed and available at each polling place on election day and in the Clerk's office preceding the election, the sample ballots on tinted paper, not green tinted, for each election. Instructions to voters may be printed on the back of the sample ballot.
f. If the Election Board receives an insufficient number of official ballots, it shall provide and the voters may use a substitute ballot. The Election Board shall certify the facts which prevented the use of the official ballots and materials and shall include the certificate in the election returns.

Section 6. Section 4.40.010 of the Homer City Code is hereby amended to read as follows:

4.40.010 Runoff election; required.

a. If no City Council candidate receives in excess of forty percent of the votes cast for a respective seat, a runoff election shall be held for that seat. When more than one Council seat for the same term is to be filled, total votes cast for a respective seat shall be determined by dividing the total number of votes cast for all candidates by the number of seats to be filled.
b. In the event a runoff is required, the ~~number of~~ two candidates receiving the highest number of votes ~~to provide two candidates for each vacancy~~ for that seat shall be the ~~included in the list of~~ candidates for the runoff election.

c. If no candidate for the office of Mayor receives forty percent of the votes cast for that office, a runoff election between the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes will be held.

Section 7. The terms of the incumbent council members are not affected by this ordinance. The incumbent council members are assigned to the seat designations stated in this section. The designated seats, incumbents, and the years of expiration of the current terms are as follows:

Seat Incumbent Term Ends

A Michael Heimbuch 2008

B Matt Shadle 2008

C Francie Roberts 2009

D Dennis Novak 2009

E Mary E. (Beth) Wythe 2010

F Vacant 2010

Section 8. Sections 1 through 6 of this ordinance are of a permanent nature and shall be included in the City Code. Section 7 is transitional and shall not be included in the City Code.