Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Planning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Council recognizes Uptown Community Planning Group despite delayed election after vendor glitch
Summary
After contested public comment, the City Council voted unanimously to recognize the newly formed Uptown Community Planning Group and waive a 90‑day election deadline; staff said a voting software error delayed completion by seven days.
City planning staff told the council the Uptown Community Planning Group completed its member election seven days after the 90-day deadline because of a voting software failure. The staff recommendation asked council to adopt a resolution recognizing the group “notwithstanding the failure to comply” with council policy requiring elections within 90 days.
Marlon Pangilinan, a program coordinator in the City Planning Department, said the independent election committee scheduled multi-day in-person and online voting but suspended the vote after a vendor technical issue. “The issue has since been resolved,” he told the council while noting that the election ultimately produced higher turnout than a prior board election.
Public testimony was mixed. Supporters said the recognized Uptown group’s election produced roughly 900 votes versus about 235 in the prior process and attributed the delay to a vendor glitch; several speakers urged the council to respect the larger turnout. Opponents and some residents cited notification gaps, allegations of harassment during the vote, and concerns that reopening the election after initial votes could have affected transparency. Lori Saldana, a long-time community participant, urged the council not to “rubber stamp a bad election process.”
Council discussion focused on outreach and participation; members who voted in favor noted the need to preserve independent planning groups while also asking staff to follow up on notification and transparency improvements. The council adopted the resolution to recognize the Uptown CPG by a unanimous vote of those present.
