During the Tuesday October 19th, 2010 Mayor and Alderman Work Session Mayor Superstein presented a plan to realign and extend the terms of Alderman and the Mayor positions here in Manchester.
The plan the Mayor Presented is as follows:
Seat Current Term Expires Proposed Plan
Alderman Donnie Thomas 2011 2012
Alderman Roxanne Patton 2011 2012
Mayor Betty Superstein 2011 2012
Alderman Ryan French 2012 2012
Alderman Gene Holmes 2012 2012
Alderman Lonnie Norman 2013 2014
Alderman Donny Parsley 2013 2014
*The 2011 Alderman Elections would be CANCELED and terms extended.
*The 2011 Mayor Election would be CANCELED and term extended.
The Plan would require 4 Aldermanic seats to expire in 2012 in an election that would then elect 3 Alderman to 4 year terms and 1 Alderman to a 2 year Term. The Alderman elected to a 2 year term would then participate in the 2014 election at which point 3 Alderman would be elected to 4 year terms.
The Mayor seat would simply be extended to 2012 from 2011 and resume 4 year terms.
So there is the plan, here is the why…
Currently we elect 2 Alderman each summer, which means we hold elections here in Manchester during odd years or “off years” in the world of Politics.
The Problem?
Each election cost around $18,000 to hold which is passed on to the Cities of Tullahoma and Manchester to split up. (Note: supporters of the proposal above have explained savings of 18k – 20k and this is simply not true. Tullahoma which has no proposal on the table splits that overall cost with Manchester, good way to get the point across though.)
The Goal?
To have our elections fall on even years… 2014 and 2016 and every two years after that.
So do we need to change the election cycles?
Well I suppose that question would be a good one for you to answer (the citizens). That is why over a year ago I proposed a plan to change the Election Cycles WITHOUT EXTENDING ANY TERM! While the State of Tennessee allows a statue in the “Municipal Government Generally 6-54-138” to extend the terms for immediate savings this could be prevented by entertaining my proposal of a year ago.
My proposal included a vote in the 2010 May Elections that would have been placed on the ballot for the citizens to express their wish to accept my plan or to pass on my plan. Ultimately I feel that we should elect our officials at the local level like the citizens of Manchester wish. After all it is Tax Payer money we use to pay for these elections, if the tax payers wish to spend the extra money to have the opportunity to shake up our elected officials every year then so be it. A democracy is about the Government being shaped by the people, not the Government SHAPING the people.
So what was my proposal?
Election Cycle Changes Proposed by Alderman Ryan P. French in 2009
2010 Elections
- Two Alderman Elected to a 4 year terms
2011 Elections
- Top Vote Alderman receives a 3 year term (2014)
- Second Highest Voted Alderman receives a 1 year term (2012)
- Mayor is Elected to either a 3 year term (2014) or 5 year term (2016)
2012 Elections
- Three Alderman Elected to 4 year terms
As you can see we would have had only 1 “off year” election to pay for, a price well worth upholding the values of a true democracy in my opinion. My plan will be edited from its original status to include a 2013 election now rather than the already passed 2010 election. In the 2013 election the Top Vote Alderman would receive a 3 year term (2016) and the Second Highest Voted Alderman would receive a 1 year term (2014).
At the end of the day I admit it seems a bit odd that this was completely ignored last year when I brought it up. But now when the prospects of extending their OWN TERM is involved it moves to the top of the list of “ways to save money”.
I feel as an Alderman myself that I am better served letting the decisions that govern the Government itself to be decided by the people rather than those it regulates. It’s hard for me to agree with a proposal that would simply declare an extra year on someone’s ELECTED TERM. The general public voted to elect said person to said term, and that should be honored.
What say you Manchester?
Thanks,
Alderman Ryan P. French
