On November 3, a number of local government elections involved questions pertaining to changes in form of government. The results of several of those campaigns are presented here. ICMA staff will report on more election results as we become aware of them.

Pueblo, Colorado, Retains Council-Manager
When residents in Pueblo, Colorado (pop. 104,951), went to the polls, they were asked whether they wanted to abandon the council-manager form and replace it with the mayor-council structure, and whether they should directly elect the city’s mayor. Both measures failed by a 15,156 to 7,022 and 17,472 to 4,408 margin respectively. 

ICMA worked with the council-manager retention group Citizens for Pueblo by providing such educational materials as the Council-Manager Form Resource Package and making a contribution in support of the C-M retention effort from the ICMA Fund for Professional Management. ICMA senior advisor Mark Achen was instrumental in providing background on the Pueblo situation.

Macomb County, Michigan, Chooses Elected-Executive Form
Voters in Macomb County, Michigan (pop. 830,663), approved the charter review commission recommendation to cut the number of commissioners from 26 to 13 and hand responsibility for the oversight of daily county operations to a full-time elected executive. While it is unclear when the county executive would be elected, the council change will take effect in 2010. Residents approved “Macomb County’s first constitution,” as it was referred to by several local newspapers, by a vote of 52,839 to 34,627.

Beach Haven, New Jersey, Adopts Council-Manager
For the second time in the current decade, residents in Beach Haven, New Jersey (pop. 1,391), voted to change their borough’s form of government. This time residents approved a proposal to abandon the commission form and adopt council-manager government by a vote of 358 to 164. Beach Haven rests on the eastern shore of New Jersey, approximately 20 miles north of Atlantic City.

Pilot Point, Texas, Approves Council-Manager Home-Rule Charter
On November 3, voters in Pilot Point, Texas (pop. 4,409), approved a home-rule charter that provides for the council-manager form of government, as recommended by a five-member charter commission. With less than 10 percent of the population casting ballots, the issue passed 174 to 124.

Federal Way and SeaTac, Washington: Too Close to Call
Both Federal Way (pop. 84,309) and SeaTac (pop. 25,840), Washington, used mail-only elections to ask voters whether or not the council-manager structure of government used in both cities should be replaced by the mayor-council form. As of this writing, the election results were too close to call in both communities.

ICMA staff worked with citizens’ groups in both cities: Federal Way Works Now! Vote No and SeaTac Works Now. In addition to providing information and strategic advice to these groups, the organization made financial contributions to the two groups through the ICMA Fund. Federal Way and SeaTac are no strangers to council-manager retention campaigns: the latter successfully retained the form in February 2008, and the November 3 election was SeaTac’s third attempt to revert to the mayor-council form, the most recent attempt taking place in 2001.

Final election results for these two cities will be published as soon as they are certified by King County.

Carolina Shores, North Carolina, Reverts to Mayor-Council
Last year, the board of commissioners in Carolina Shores, North Carolina (pop. 2,995), changed the city’s form of government from mayor-council to council-manager. More than 800 residents signed a petition this past summer to put a question on the ballot as to whether the town should revert back to mayor-council government. The effort was successful. as Carolina Shores abandoned council-manager by a vote of 1,058 to 198. 

No Council-Manager for Plymouth, Connecticut
Residents in Plymouth, Connecticut (pop. 11,969) voted 1,091 to 589 not to adopt the town-manager form of government. The town-manager proposal was tied to the question of whether or not issuance of bonds and notes should be approved by the board of finance. 

For information or assistance in promoting professional management and the council-manager form of government, contact Jared Dailey, assistant program manager, at jdailey@icma.org or 202/962-3557. To learn more about the ICMA Fund for Professional Management, contact Abigail Lundy, program manager, at alundy@icma.org or 202/962-3594.