⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.
⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.
Findings and Recommendations 6 findings
F1
The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors (Board) cites cost as the main reason to make an appointment rather than hold an election. During Board of Supervisor discussions of how to fill the vacancy, an estimated $1.6 million cost to San Mateo County (County) of an election was cited as the main reason for not holding an election. County elections costs are funded through the San Mateo County general fund. The Grand Jury also learned that: a. The costs of a countywide mail-only election, compared to a conventional election, are reduced by approximately 30%. b. Half the registered voters in the State and 49% of the registered voters in San Mateo County vote permanently by mail. c. State law sets forth what can be included in the County Charter. It is not clear whether it is possible to set forth in the County Charter a provision that would authorize the Board to use a mail ballot election for the filling of vacancies on the Board. 3
Related Recommendations (2)
R1
Elections shall be called to fill a vacated supervisorial seat if the term remaining is one year or more.
R3
When filling supervisorial vacancies by special election, mail-only ballots are allowed. 6
F2
Incumbents are almost always re-elected. According to a study funded by several large private philanthropic organizations, 92% of all state legislative incumbents in the 2006 election cycle were reelected.1 This pattern holds true for the Board. a. Since 1980, incumbents seeking reelection have been reelected 100 percent of the time.
Related Recommendations (2)
R1
Elections shall be called to fill a vacated supervisorial seat if the term remaining is one year or more.
R2
If the term for the vacated seat is less than one year, a provisional appointment should be made in which the appointee is prohibited from running for the seat to which s/he was appointed during the next election cycle.
F3
Individuals who fill vacancies have the possibility of extended term limits. a. Individuals who fill vacancies, whether by appointment or special election, can serve longer than supervisors who do not fill vacancies. b. According to the County Charter Article II, Section 202, term limits only apply to three four-year full terms, or 12 years total. Individuals who fill vacated seats can serve three full terms in addition to the time the individual is filling a vacated seat. c. In the case of the current Board, two sitting members, one elected in a special election and one appointed, will serve more than 12 years. Several of the organizations that supported an election to fill the vacated seat discussed the power of incumbency. For example, in its press release, the San Mateo County Democrat Central Committee wrote: “The person who is elected or appointed to fill Jerry Hill’s seat will likely remain on the Board until he or she is termed out in 2022.” In other words, that person may legally serve in the office fourteen years.
Related Recommendations (2)
R1
Elections shall be called to fill a vacated supervisorial seat if the term remaining is one year or more.
R2
If the term for the vacated seat is less than one year, a provisional appointment should be made in which the appointee is prohibited from running for the seat to which s/he was appointed during the next election cycle.
F4
The term “appointed incumbent” must be used on the ballot but not on the campaign statements. a. According to state election law, the appointed Supervisor must use the words “appointed incumbent” on the ballot. b. This requirement does not apply to the candidate statement or election literature that is available to voters to learn about the candidates. For example: one Supervisor, appointed in 2000, who first campaigned for election in 2002, was able to describe herself on her candidate statement as a “San Mateo County Supervisor,” whereas on the ballot she was mandated, under state law, to use the term “appointed incumbent.” 1 Jordon, Scott, “Advantage, Incumbent” May 7, 2008: supported by Carnegie Foundation, Ford Foundation, Pew Charitable Trust, Rockefeller Brothers Fund https://www.policyarchive.org/bitstream/handle/10207/15819/MoneyIncumbency2006_Final.pdf?sequence=1 4
No recommendations for this finding
F5
Two applicants for the Board seat offered to be provisional appointees. Two of the candidates who sought to fill the vacated seat on the Board of Supervisors in December 2008, offered to be “placeholders” who would fill out the term, but would not run for the seat in 2010, thus, neutralizing the power of incumbency. a. Placeholder or “provisional” appointees do not run for the seat to which they are appointed in the next available election, but they may run for that seat thereafter and for any other office at any time. b. It is questionable whether this offer by the applicants, if accepted by the Board, would have been enforceable because the County Charter does not provide for provisional appointments.
Related Recommendations (1)
R2
If the term for the vacated seat is less than one year, a provisional appointment should be made in which the appointee is prohibited from running for the seat to which s/he was appointed during the next election cycle.
F6
The County Charter can be, and has frequently been, changed. State law requires that amendments to the County Charter be approved by the voters in the form of a ballot measure. There are two ways for a measure to be placed upon the ballot: a. The Board of Supervisors may place a measure on the ballot. b. Citizens may place a measure on the ballot if they collect signatures equal to or more than 10% of the voters who voted in the last gubernatorial election. The San Mateo County Charter has been fully revised by the electorate twice since it was first adopted in 1932. The electorate has amended the County Charter 20 times since 1932 and was last amended in 2004. The County has in place an on-going charter-review process. According to Section 801 of the Charter, a supervisor-appointed County Charter Review Committee meets every eight years to: “review the Charter and, after public hearings, make appropriate
No recommendations for this finding
Conclusions 6
-
CL1 Page 6The cost of an election is not a valid excuse for denying voters the right to a special election, specifically if there is more than a year remaining in the term.
-
CL2 Page 6Provisional appointments, in which appointees are prohibited from running for the seat to which s/he was appointed at the next election, neutralize the power of incumbency, although such appointments are currently not allowed by the County Charter.
-
CL3 Page 6The 2008 supervisorial vacancy should have been filled by calling a special election rather than by appointment.
-
CL4 Page 6The decision to appoint rather than elect a Board member in 2008 was inappropriate because: a. The voters were denied the opportunity to debate serious issues facing San Mateo County during a campaign. b. 50% of the term for the vacated seat was remaining.
-
CL5 Page 6The power of incumbency is demonstrable and should not be bestowed by an appointment.
-
CL6 Page 6A mail-only ballot process to fill a vacated Board seat would be a less expensive election option, although currently not allowed by the County Charter.
No Responses Found 1
Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.
San Mateo County Board of Supervisors
Elected County Office