Some inMarin turned out to vote, others no-showed
Final unofficial returns from municipal elections in Novato, Fairfax and San Anselmo produced a mixed bag regarding voter turnout.
The principal tout made to rationalize Novato’s forced shift from city council elections conducted at-large to election by district was the change would encourage and enable minority group candidates — particularly Latinos — to run and win. Secondary benefits supposedly included lowering the cost of campaigns, and the voters’ focus on their own council districts and neighborhoods would boost turnout.
Unlike San Rafael, Novato doesn’t have a significant geographic concentration of Hispanic registered voters. To those knowledgeable of Novato’s demographics, claims that shifting voting procedures would promote Latino candidates always seemed dubious. Those observations proved correct since no Latino filed for any of the three council posts on November’s ballot.
It’s likely that when campaign expenditure disclosures are finalized, overall cost of running for a district-elected council seat will decrease from previous years when candidates ran citywide. On the other hand, the cost per vote each candidate obtained will skyrocket.
Surprisingly, under the new district-election set-up, Novato’s voter turnout decreased. In 2017, the city’s last election with candidates elected at-large, 41.6% of Novato’s registered voters participated.
This year the lowest turnout was in the downtown-centered District 3, where 32.7% of voters cast ballots. In North Novato’s District 1, 37% voted. In theHamilton-Pacheco Valle District 5, the participation decreased to 38.4%.
The positive news is the district election model brought out top-flight candidates, making all three council districts competitive.
That’s better than Larkspur, where there weren’t enough candidates to even hold a city election. The two newcomerswho filed for two council posts were automatically elected, a sad comment on Larkspur’s civic health. That deprives new council members Gabriel Paulson and Scot Candell the essential experience of learning voters’ concerns. Lack of an election eliminated citizens’ ability to question those who’ll soon be governing their community.
Fairfax and San Anselmo retain at-large council elections. Turnout in Fairfaxwas a healthy 45.6%, up a tad from 2017. In San Anselmo where the race for two council seats, plus MeasureM — the effort to raise taxes to pay for remodelingMemorial Park — brought out 49.1% of voters. That’s a substantial increase from 2017 when only 36% participated.
The Ross Valley demonstrated that every vote counts. San Anselmo incumbent council member Ford Greene defeated neophyte candidate KimPipkin by 66 votes. In Fairfax, two newcomers battled for the second council spot with Stephanie Hellman topping Cindy Swift by 29 votes.
Counter that withMeasureM, which required a two-thirds super-majority to pass, but only garnered a pathetic 39.14% “yes” vote.
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The upper deck bikeway on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge opened last Saturday. It’ll be a pleasant amenity for recreational cyclists.
We’ll learn in April whether the multi-use lane will attract cycling commuters. That’s when this column will conduct a peak commute period count of cyclists utilizing the windy San Pablo
Bay span to travel towork — the prime rationale for $20 million plus toll dollars the bikeway cost. We’ll also do a before-and-after auto count to determine if the bikeway had any impact on commuters changing modes from cars to bikes.
Many readers have expressed wonder at how the bikeway secured necessary approvals and funding. One of the key players was retired county supervisor andMarin’s only Metropolitan Transportation Commission member Steve Kinsey. For good or ill he deserves — depending on your viewpoint — major credit or blame for the bikeway. Without Kinsey’s persistent support, the controversial bikeway likely would never have been built. He was appropriately acknowledged for his pivotal role at the pathway’s opening ceremony.
Surprisingly, under the new districtelection set-up, Novato’s voter turnout decreased.
Columnist Dick Spotswood of
Mill Valley writes on local issues Sundays andWednesdays. Email himat spotswood@comcast.net