Second in a series.
Re: “Meghan Lonely Cheerleader for Blended Elections”
City Councilperson Meghan Sahli-Wells, an ardent activist for the progressive causes she espouses, said there are several reasons voters she polled favor consolidating local elections while politicians are against the concept.
Alluding to the perceived “negativism” in the School Board race that ends this evening, she said that “election season has become a blood sport.”
Does Ms. Sahli-Wells believe that tone would change if the City Council and the School Board were to run parallel races, as dictated by a new state law — that may skip Culver City?
“Let me just say this,” she responded. “Let’s not have an election every five months, shall we?
“From an economic point of view, it is not in our favor.
“From a voter-turnout point of view, it is not in our favor.
“When you are a candidate going door-to-door, people will say, ‘I am sorry. Didn’t I just vote?’”
Culver City stages elections every two years – the School Board running from July to November, the City Council from December to April.
It is Ms. Sahli-Wells’s opinion that “we can have too many elections.”
Why, she was asked, is there a gaping distance between the opinions of the public and those of politicians?
“I have heard things said in meetings,” Ms. Sahli-Wells replied. “But I would prefer you go to the source rather than giving my interpretation of what they said.”
(To be continued)
