HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026 08 20 Ad Hoc Chater Review Public Input - documents provided by Jesse PhillipsP4,vi1
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rter Review Comments — Election Reform Ph 4/1�n
Our Charter should make it easy for citizens to participate, difficult to
game the system, and impossible for City resources to tilt the political
playing field.
• Request for City Attorney review: Some of these may require Charter
changes; others may already be achievable by ordinance under §8.03. Where
an ordinance is sufficient, CRC recommend one to the Commission.
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1. Early Voting We are the only city with no early voting site
o Examine expanding convenient early -voting access for municipal
elections.
o Determine, what power we have under home rule to conduct our own
elections, and what authority belongs to the City versus the SOE.
2. Candidate Qualification Ghost candidate schemes pf°otecting incumbents
o Current threshold of 15 petitions is extremely low.
o Consider a meaningful but reasonable demonstration of community
support.
o Candidates with broad community involvement can easily obtain
more than 100 petitions
o Explore two -method qualification: petitions or paying a fee
3. Citizen Initiative & Referendum Genesis of this charter review committee
o The charter does not outline a process through which citizens can
propose charter changes by petition; it is restricted to ordinances.
o I believe this fails the standards of Florida's Home Rule laws
4. Campaign -Finance Accountability Candidates not reporting unused fiends
o Hypothetical: campaign raises $9,000, reports spending $5,000, but
never publicly accounts for the remaining $4,000 (returned, pocketed)
o What happens when the numbers don't add up and the candidate
never resolves it?
o Can the Clerk be required to flag deficiencies, demand correction,
publicly disclose unresolved discrepancies, and automatically refer
appropriate matters?
o What additional local consequences are legally permissible?
5. Political/Gift Disclosures Gifts between commissioners, staff and familie6
• Examine disclosure of gifts or financial relationships involving
elected officials, senior City employees, their families, and political
committees.
• Goal: residents can easily identify potential conflicts or political
financial relationships.
6. Taxpayer Resources & Ballot Issues City giving money to groups who
advocate
o Establish a clear firewall between public education and political
advocacy.
o Examine City money flowing to third -party organizations/PCs that
advocate for or against ballot questions.
• Require transparency concerning dues/payments to organizations
engaged in ballot advocacy.
7. Election -Year City Marketing Taxpayer dollars spent to help incumbent's
• Prevent taxpayer -funded communications from becoming de factor
incumbent campaign advertising.
o Differentiate opt -in newsletters with geotargeting voter lists
• Consider a ban on paid targeted messaging within six months of an
election
• I am asking the Attorney to identify for each proposal:
(1) Charter authority
(2) ordinance authority tinder §8.03/home rule
(3) state -law limitations/preemption
(4) recommended action
• The goal is greater participation, greater transparency, and greater
confidence that everyone plays by the same rules.