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Maplewood mayor proposes charter work session on Article 8; public voices concern about eliminating primaries
Summary
Mayor Greenberg proposed a work session to study a possible charter amendment to Article 8 and other charter updates; a resident warned that eliminating primaries in favor of plurality voting could risk electing officials without majority support and urged retention of a primary or adoption of ranked-choice voting.
Mayor Greenberg said Sept. 24 he would like a work session to consider a charter amendment to Article 8, noting that the charter contains outdated provisions (including salary language for the mayor and council) and that any amendment would require study before being placed on a ballot. He asked staff to prepare information on costs and implications for consideration at a future work session.
At the second public forum, Matthew Langston asked whether repealing Article 8 would remove primaries and expressed concern about switching to a plurality system. Langston said a plurality system risks electing candidates who do not have majority support and cited examples of runoffs in other states; he added that he prefers a primary system and said he also supports ranked-choice voting in general.
Staff provided timeline information on candidate filing: petitions for Wards 1, 2 and 3 open Oct. 8 at 8:30 a.m. and close Oct. 29 at 5 p.m.; staff noted the charter requires a primary if more than two candidates file. The mayor said the council should schedule a work session to study the charter changes before making any ballot decisions.
Council did not set a final date for any charter amendment vote; the next step is a work session to gather costs and legal implications.
