City charter works well, commission concludes

CEDAR RAPIDS - The City Council-appointed Charter Review Commission finished its three-month assignment last night with a broad endorsement of the City Charter that a council-appointed Home Rule Charter Commission crafted in 2005 and voters approved in June of that year.

The one notable change that the Charter Review Commission is recommending is that the City Council tweak the charter so five council seats are filled in one election cycle, including two of the four at-large positions, and four in the next, including the other two at-large seats. Currently, six seats are filled in one cycle, including three of the four at-large seats, and three in the next.

Such a change in the election stagger likely would mean that one of the two at-large council seats on the ballot in 2013 - the mayor's office is the third at-large race on that year's ballot - would be for a one-time, two-year term so that seat would be up again for a vote in 2015.

The change would mean that voters in each of the five council districts would have at least two of the nine council seats, all of which have four-year terms, to vote for in every city election.

The commission also is recommending a language change in the charter so that the mayor pro-tem, who is elected by the council, serves as mayor in the mayor's temporary absence, but does not fill out the rest of the mayor's term should the absence become permanent as the charter now states. Instead, the charter would simply comply with state law, which establishes a special election to fill such an office if is vacated permanently.

Finally, the commission is adding a few words to encourage more transparency and public access to the city's financial records and budgets.

Commission members also want to make special note of topics which led to the most discussion but did not gain any traction with the full commission.

The two most significant of those topics were raised in large part by commission member Robin Tucker after some members of the public had suggested the ideas.

Tucker asked the commission to consider having voters citywide vote on the five district races as well as the four at-large ones, arguing that the district seats would still require the district council member to live in the district. Commission member Nancy Bruner thought the idea might have some merit. No one else among the 12 commissioners agreed.

Among those opposing the Tucker idea were the co-chairpersons of commission, former Mayors Paul Pate and Kay Halloran. Pate said voting citywide for district offices would represent a “major” change to a charter that citizens strongly support just six years ago. Pate made note of the east-west divide often talked about in the city, and he said he wasn't sure a west-side district would want a big east-side turnout to decide who a west-side council member should be. Bruner countered that it would prompt more people to vote.

Commission member Carl Whiting said having voters citywide vote for district candidates would be akin to having Massachusetts voters vote for Vermont's senators in the U.S. Congress.

Tucker also talked the most about the subject of instant runoff elections, an arrangement in which voters pick their favorite candidate and then rank other candidates, with ranking deciding the winner if no candidate receives a majority of the votes. The commission did not back the idea.

Many cities have primaries, but the Cedar Rapids charter uses runoff elections in the event no candidate wins a race in the general election.

The commission will present its report to the City Council in August.