Janine Marnien
With the November election beginning to loom on the horizon and
election plans starting to get underway, the Crescenta Valley Town
Council is trying to overcome an early challenge.
The election committee is considering options like voting by
absentee ballots only or moving the election from its usual time on
the first Saturday of November to the general Election Day --
Tuesday, Nov. 5 -- to overcome an election notorious for low voter
turnout.
"It's too early at this point to speculate what the final decision
will be," committee Chairman Stuart Wilcox said. "The goal is to get
more people to vote, more citizen participation."
Estimates on actual number of voters range among some council
members, but estimates citing more than 300 votes being received in
the past three elections seem most reliable, President Danette
Erickson said.
The council has tried holding its election in conjunction with the
general election, with poor results, Beatty added.
"Everybody in the world is off on Saturday," he said. "It's harder
for people to come on Tuesday because they work."
Finding council members to work the polls was also more difficult
on Tuesday, Beatty said.
Wilcox anticipates the committee will have made a decision by
mid-September, and will also open the election process at that time.
There will be three voting seats open on the council, plus three
alternate spots. Council members serve three-year terms, and
alternates serve a term of one year.
The council serves as an advisory committee to Supervisor Michael
Antonovich.
"The main goal of the council is to represent their constituents,
and not their own personal views," Wilcox said.
For more information on the election, or to make suggestions, call
248-9387 or visit www.yourtowncouncil.org.
