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MINiJTES Page 13 City of San Leandro City Council and San Leandro Redevelopment Agency Joint Meeting-January 19, 2010 Nancy Van Huffel, Past President of the LWVEA, addressed the City Council in support of RCV. Ms. Van Huffel commented that RCV is a step toward good government, and would produce better candidates. Sara Mestas, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, expressing support for RCV. Ms. Mestas commented that RCV would improve voter morale, and this is a one-time opportunity for larger cities to bear brunt of the costs of RCV implementation. End of Public Comments on Item 10.C. Councilmember Souza thanked the audience members for participating in the process. She expressed concern for the voters whose candidates have been eliminated, as their votes no longer count. Councihnember Souza stated that something would need to be cut from the budget in order to pay for RCV. Councilmember Stephens commented on the difficulties of running for office. He ran uncontested in two elections, and felt they were hollow victories. Councilmember Stephens commented that he believes there is too much money in politics, and that it does not benefit the community. He pointed to the difficult budget decisions facing the City, and stated that he felt it best to defer RCV for this election cycle. Councilmember Gregory stated his support for RCV. He likened the decision to that of the East Bay Regional Parks District, which made a decision during the Depression to invest in the regional parks system. Councilmember Gregory commented that RCV has a following in the Bay Area and is being considered in other cities, and San Leandro could be in the forefront of the movement. He added that RCV could be a step toward campaign fmance reform. Councilmember Prola commented that RCV could save the City approximately $30,000 each election. He stated that as the City continues making staffmg cuts, it cannot afford to continue to spend an additiona1200 hours per election cycle. Councilmember Reed thanked the speakers for their input. She expressed concern about the possibility of needing two elections in 2010, for a revenue measure in June and an RCV election in November. Councihnember Reed expressed interest in having a future discussion on the plans for a revenue measure, at the upcoming Council Retreat or at a future Council meeting. Mr. Hollister reported that the consultant recommends that the City consider a measure when Councilmembers are standing for election, so in June if there is no RCV, and in November if RCV is used. He noted that there would be a potential revenue loss of $2 million if the measure passed in November rather than in June. Mr. Hollister added that the cost of RCV is small compared with the enormity of the budget cuts the City must make.