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There’s an election next Tuesday? So…what’s it all about?

For those voters seeking to be better informed for the Tuesday, May 7, 2013, City of Lincoln General Election, a brief overview of what happened in the April 9 Primary and what will appear on the May 7 ballot:

13.35% of registered Lincoln voters cast ballots in the local Primary election April 9, “choosing” the candidates for three government bodies who will appear on the May 7 General Election ballot. There are open seats on the City Council, Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education, and Airport Authority Board of Directors.

Choice was mostly theoretical because, for two of these three bodies, all of the candidates ran unopposed. Actual choices existed in the City Council race, where there were 7 candidates from whom we could choose 3.

PRIMARY RESULTS:

Lincoln Public Schools, Board of Education

(Click HERE to view a District map – HERE to view the official results, with more detail)

District 1: Kathy Danek. . . . . . . . . . 2,334 votes (98.19%)

District 3: Barbara Baier . . . . . . . . . 1,147 votes (95.74%)

District 5: Lanny Boswell . . . . . . . . .2,735 votes (98.31%)

District 7: Don Mayhew . . . . . . . . . . 1,514 votes (96.62%)

Airport Authority, Board of Directors

Nicholas J. Cusick. . . . . . . 15,360 votes (97.57%)

Lincoln City Council

Member of City Council-At Large

As explained in a footnote in our April 8 article, there are seven members of the Lincoln City Council; four are elected by district (see map) and three are At Large. These results were taken, in full, directly from the Lancaster County Election Commission’s Official Results page (here), with a few minor formatting adjustments for clarity.

I’ve included links to any articles we’ve published about the candidates to date.

Roy A. Christensen . . . . . 10,057. . . . . .17.14%

Meg Mikolajczyk . . . . . . . . 9,868. . . . . .16.82%

Leirion Gaylor Baird. . . . . 9,528. . . . . .16.24%

Mark Whitehead. . . . . . . . .9,457. . . . . .16.12%

Trent Fellers . . . . . . . . . . . .8,835. . . . . .15.06%

Eugene W. Carroll. . . . . . . 8,337. . . . . ..14.21%

Norman L. Dority . . . . . . . . 2,472. . . . . .4.21%

WRITE-IN. . . . . . . . . . . 125. . . . . ..21

Total . . . . . . . . . 58,679

Eugene W. Carroll is the only incumbent (see list of the current Council members).

Lincoln’s General Election is Tuesday, May 7, 2013[1. Most aspects of local elections are governed by state law – Nebraska Revised Statutes –  with exceptions based upon the type of political subdivision (county, town, village, city), particularly if there is a Home Rule Charter in place, which the City of Lincoln does have. Revised Statute 14-204 sets the Primary date for City Council elections as the first Tuesday in April, and requires that the General Election is held four weeks later 32-402.]

Polls will be open 8am – 8pm

Sample Ballots and Additional Information[2. According to Nebraska law, sample ballots cannot be published earlier than 15 days prior to the election (and no later than two).]:  Click HERE to view / download / print the Official May 7 Sample Ballot and see a list of helpful links regarding individual voter information, election calendar, etc.

Additional details…

Lincoln Public Schools Board of Education (see more below) and Airport Authority Board of Directors: Since all candidates ran unopposed, the same candidates are on the ballot for May 7.

City Council: Voters will choose 3 of the 6 to fill the 3 At-Large seats on the Council. Note that 6 names in bold in the  list of results, above.  Those 6 candidates advance to the General Election ballot[2. Section 4 of the City Charter spells out the conduct of Council elections, including that the six top vote-getting candidates move on to the General Election (page 6)]. As the recipient of the fewest votes, Norman L. Dority will not appear on the May 7 ballot.

TWO PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENTS ARE ON THE BALLOT

NOTE: We’re going to have a whole lot more to say on the subject of ANY ballot or referendums, etc., put before voters by the City Council at this time, due to the now year-long and running violation of the City Charter (and state law). The Council has failed to put last year’s “Fairness Ordinance” up for public vote as required. The legal mandate for a referendum is due to the overwhelming number of Lincolnites – 10,000 – who signed a petition within 15 days of the Council’s vote to approve the ordinance. See Section 23 of the City Charter found on pages 12-13.

A very brief overview:

1. An Amendment to the City Charter commonly referred to as the “Good Government resolution”, which would prohibit any member of the City Council or the Mayor from holding a contract with the City of Lincoln with a value of $5,000 or more, effective June, 2013.

See Mayor Beutler’s Press Release of February 11, 2013 for an overview.

2. An Amendment to the City Charter regarding how the City Council fills vacancies on the Council. See Page 493 of the City Council Meeting Minutes, February 25, 2013.

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