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Charter committee narrows survey language on how to fill council vacancies
Summary
Sunnyvale Charter Review Committee members debated how to explain options for filling City Council and mayor vacancies in a public survey, pressed staff on turnout and cost differences between election types, and approved edits to emphasize the large gap in cost and turnout between special and general elections.
The Sunnyvale Charter Review Committee on Sept. 25 debated how to phrase survey questions about filling City Council vacancies and directed staff to emphasize that special elections typically cost “much more” and have much lower turnout than general elections.
The discussion, led in the staff presentation by Deputy City Manager Connie Vercelles, centered on how much background to provide survey respondents so they could make an informed choice between appointment and election options. Vercelles said the survey is one tool of many and warned the committee to “keep it very simple” to avoid legal jargon and to keep the reading level low so residents complete the questionnaire.
The committee’s most contested point was whether to show numerical estimates for the difference in cost and turnout…
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