Primary amendment headed toward ballot
By Jeff Gallatin
Bay Village
Published July 18, 2007

City Council is getting ready to put the issue of having a municipal primary election on the November ballot.

During a special meeting Monday, six council members unanimously expressed support for placing on the November 2007 ballot a proposed charter amendment asking voters to decide whether in future years the city should hold a municipal primary election if needed in September. Although he was absent due to a business commitment, Ward 3 Councilman Scott Pohlkamp also sent a note supporting the idea of a September primary.

Unlike a recommendation from the Bay Village chapter of the League of Women Voters in a recently completed year-long study by the group which honed in on the  primary issue, the council proposal recommends that any city office which has three or more candidates by the filing deadline have a September non-partisan primary election to narrow the field to two candidates. The League study recommended having a primary only for the citywide elected offices of mayor, council president and the two city council at-large positions. If approved for placement on the ballot by council at a special meeting July 30 and then subsequently by voters, the elections would be in odd-numbered years starting with the year 2009.

City Council President Brian Cruse said council members felt having a primary for all elected positions was fairer.

“In talking to the other council members, it was apparent that the general sentiment was that what’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” Cruse said. “The thought is that if one position has to face a possible primary, then all of them should.”

Ward 1 Councilman Don Zimmerman said it would be tougher on ward councilmen to have to possibly run in primaries and general elections, noting the ward council members currently have to run every two years. He suggested making the ward seats four-year terms as well. Cruse said that could certainly be considered but suggested council focus on the primary issue first.

Cruse said it has become apparent to him and other members of council in recent weeks that there is enough sentiment in the community for placing the proposed charter amendment on the November ballot. City Council held a public hearing on the League study July 9 which drew a large crowd of city residents, with a large majority of them supporting having a primary of some kind.

“Clearly, there is interest out there in having some kind of resolution of this on the November ballot,” Cruse said.

Cruse said council member also felt that a September election was a fairer time for a primary than earlier in the year, such as March. That’s when many state officials are considering moving the Ohio presidential primary too.

Council initially discussed having the primary the second Tuesday of September. But then Councilman-at-large Jim Scott suggested making it the second Tuesday after Labor Day to try and avoid running into possible problems with people taking a long holiday. Council also discussed holding it on either the fifth or seventh Tuesday prior to the general election like some other suburban cities like Fairview Park, Lakewood and Rocky River.

Law Director Gary Ebert noted that the more communities hold elections on a given day, the lower the cost will be for a city. Bay’s costs would be higher if it holds an election on a day all by itself.

Several audience and council members also inquired about language in the proposal which would allow for other elected positions to go in a primary. There has been discussion by some residents about making the law director’s position elected instead of appointed. Some council members favored naming the positions to go in a primary specifically, while others favored more open-ended language which would allow city officials to insert other positions later, such as if it’s decided later to make the law director an elected post. Cruse said he would look into possible language clauses.