(a) Only employee members are eligible to be elected to the position of employee member for their respective department.
(b) Not more than 90 calendar days nor fewer than 60 calendar days prior to the regular election, the City Clerk shall notify by mail all employee members of the department with the vacancy for employee member of the Board that candidates are being sought to run for election to the position of that department's employee member of the Board. This notification shall instruct employee members interested in becoming a candidate to submit a completed Notice of Intent to run for office. The City Clerk shall prepare the Notice of Intent form no less than seven weeks prior to an election.
(c) Along with the submission of the Notice of Intent, interested candidates shall have the option to include an occupational ballot designation and a typed statement of qualifications for office. The completed Notice of Intent, optional ballot designation and statement of qualifications, known as the candidate packet, shall be submitted to the City Clerk within the due date specified in the notification in order for candidates to have their names placed on the ballot.
(d) The occupational ballot designation for each qualifying candidate shall be printed on the ballot, immediately under that candidate's name and shall consist of a three-word designation of either: (a) the current principal profession, vocation or occupation of the candidate; or (b) the principal profession, vocation or occupation of the candidate during the calendar year immediately preceding the filing of the candidate's Notice of Intent form. A candidate who is running for re-election to the same office shall also have "(Incumbent)" printed on the ballot, immediately after that person's name.
(e) The statement of qualifications for office may include information on a candidate's education, work experience, years of service, and other relevant qualifications and shall not exceed 300 words in length. The official ballot shall include a disclaimer stating that neither the Department nor the City Clerk has verified the accuracy of the information contained in the candidates' statements of qualifications.
(f) Interested candidates may submit their candidate packets to the City Clerk by United States mail. Alternatively, interested candidates may personally deliver their candidate packets to the City Clerk during regular business hours in the seven business days preceding the specified due date. All candidate packets must be received by the City Clerk no later than 5:00 p.m. on the due date.
(g) Occupational ballot statements and statements of qualifications that are submitted by the due date will be printed by the City Clerk and mailed with the ballot at no expense to the candidate. Should any candidate fail to submit an occupational ballot designation or a statement of qualifications by the due date, the appropriate sections for the occupational ballot designation and the statement of qualifications shall remain blank.
(h) Each ballot shall contain the names of all qualified candidates, listed by surname. There shall be a blank space beneath the final name in which voters may write the name of any member of the applicable department not printed on the ballot and for whom they wish to vote.
(i) On the second business day following the due date for candidate packets, the City Clerk shall conduct a public drawing of the letters of the alphabet. The order by which the letters are drawn shall constitute the random alphabetical order by which the surnames of the qualified candidates shall be arranged on the ballot. For the purpose of ordering candidates by surname, the term "surname" shall mean the name borne in common by members of a family.
SECTION HISTORY
Added by Ord. No. 184,664, Eff. 1-25-17.