Thread by @shayshinecastle

Oh, hey, we're talking briefly about even-year elections. There's a new proposal on the table that would do that transition without extending any current terms. Even-year elections would start in 2026.

There would be regularly scheduled odd-year elections in 2023 and 2025, but those council members would only get 3-year terms (instead of 4). First mayor elected in 2023 would also get a 3-year term (instead of 2).

Which is so much more palatable, to me.

Friend proposed this. She was 1 of 2 council members who already said they wouldn't do a longer term. (Wallach was the other)

Benjamin: What we heard were concerns with the mechanics of getting to even-year elections, not the substantive proposal itself. I appreciate the work to get here, which responds to concerns of the community that we heard.

Wallach: "This is government by impulse."

"This is not governance, this is let's just get it done because we want to get it done," Wallach says.

Real Government: Not Getting It Done Since 1776

Speer: I think this option is the one Yates told us we should do when he was advising us months ago. We moved this priority forward at our retreat in January. "I don't see it as something that's out of nowhere."

There are some qs about how this will affect petitions, bc even-year elections will mean they require double the signatures (as would greater turnout, no matter what year, since it's based on past turnout).

Wallach: We've had no discussion on if this is a thing worth doing, and why

In a democracy, more voters = good, right?

Brockett: "We have debated the merits at previous council meetings."

Friend: To me, this proposal gets the "center of the conversation" back to: Do people want even-year elections? This way, they don't have to weigh extending our terms or moving the mayoral election.

The vote is the dialogue, Friend says. We're asking the people, not doing this ourselves.

Joseph: I'll be supporting this, "but I can't help myself but to agree with (Wallach)."

Yates: "I'm going to do something I've never done before. I'm going to respectfully disagree with Mark Wallach and agree with my colleague Nicole Speer."

Yates: This has been in front of us as an option for quite some time. "I commend all of you who are considering re-evaluating this. ... I'm still going to vote against putting the even-year measure on the ballot."

But this is a "smart" way to go about it.

Winer also voting against, "just because I like the odd-year better."

But she's happy this is the way it's being done.

Winer, Wallach and Yates all vote against putting the even-year elections q on the ballot. But it passes with a majority, as do all the other ballot items.

Second reading and public hearing will be Aug. 2 for ballot stuff, if you've got something to say.

Reminder about what's on the ballot (big stuff):
- CU South referendum (to undo annexation)
- Climate tax (new, combined one, more $$)
- Even-year elections
- Library district

All that content coming from Boulder Beat in the next couple of months, of course, along with some really good BBOP editorials. V excited!

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