15-232: Open Seat Elections for Ashland City Council
I am voting YES on Measure 15-232. Currently, we have specific council positions named 1-6, but those positions do not relate at all to a geography inside the City of Ashland. They are all “at-large” seats, which means that anyone living anywhere in Ashland can run for any of the six seats that are open in any given election. Because of this, having candidates run “against” each other for a specific seat does not make sense to me.
Passing this ballot measure will allow the people of Ashland to vote from a pool of city council candidates rather than being forced to pick one of two or three candidates for each position. If this were in place this election, Ashland voters would simply pick their favorite four of the seven people running.
15-233: Changing the Municipal Judge to an Appointed Position
I do not have a recommendation for this measure, but I’d like to share some of my thinking about the pros and cons. Currently, our city charter requires the municipal judge position to be an elected, full-time position. This charter change would make the position appointed by the City Council and the Council could determine whether it is full-time.
On one hand, this change does make it easier to manage the position given that while the municipal judge is elected, the court is operated by the City. The City has operational authority over the court, but not the judge, so Ashland voters and the voting process are the only accountability measure in place. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but because the judge is technically an employee of the City, any personnel concerns that come up are not able to be disclosed to the public. There is no question that if the community approves this change it will make administering the court more efficient and bring the potential for immediate accountability if the situation requires it.
On the other hand is a philosophical concern. We have three branches of government at all levels - the executive, legislative, and judicial. At the local level, the mayor’s office is the executive, the council is the legislative, and the municipal judge is the judicial. They are kept independent for a reason, but at the local level, the legislative and judicial are connected through the operations of the court, which are overseen by the Council through the city manager role. One thing to keep in mind is that the municipal judge hears cases that involve the City bringing charges against residents. So, if the judge is appointed, the judge’s boss (the Council) is one of the two parties to every case they hear. I don’t know that that creates a problem in the real world of a small town court like Ashland’s, but it’s something to consider.
117: Ranked Choice Voting
I am fully in agreement with the League of Women Voters and many other organizations in supporting Measure 117 and ranked choice voting for certain state level positions. Ranked choice voting is a key element in our ability to vote for who we think best aligns with our individual values without feeling the pressure to avoid “throwing away our vote.” It has been done successfully in many other states and I believe it will bring increased accountability and responsiveness to our political parties and help us elect the people who most closely align with our shared values across Oregon.
