HomeMy WebLinkAbout1820 ORDINANCE NO. 1820
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS,
CALIFORNIA, ADDING SECTION 2.02.035 TO THE PALM
SPRINGS MUNICIPAL CODE, RELATING TO FILING
CANDIDATE PROFILES AT MUNICIPAL ELECTIONS.
City Attorney Summary
California Elections Code §§ 13307 and 13308, pertaining to the
preparation and form of a candidate statement, applies to
candidate profiles submitted in conjunction with municipal
elections in Palm Springs. This Ordinance allows the City
Elections Official to redact or modify a filed candidate profile,
rather than reject the profile, to ensure compliance with election
regulations, and print and circulate each candidate profile in the
sample ballot as redacted or modified.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA,
FINDS:
A. Section 802 of Article Vill of the City of Palm Springs Charter provides the
City Council may by ordinance enact procedures for the conduct of municipal elections.
B. Section 5(b) of Article XI of the California Constitution allows Charter
Cities to provide for the conduct of city elections and recognizes regulations for the
conduct of local elections is a matter of local concern.
C. One of the most important tools for public participation and education in
the election process is providing information to the electorate, such as candidate
profiles printed and circulated in the sample ballot mailed to all registered voters.
D. Allowing the Elections Official to redact or modify a candidate profile in the
sample ballot to ensure compliance with election regulations would ensure the provision
of reasonable information regarding candidates for office to all registered voters.
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA,
ORDAINS:
SECTION 1. Section 2.02.035 is added the Palm Springs Municipal Code to
read:
2.02.035 Preparation and form of candidate profile.
(a) The provisions of Cal. Elections Code §§ 13307 and 13308, relating to the
preparation, form, and submission of candidate statements, shall apply to candidate
profiles in mayor and city council elections.
(b) Each candidate for the office of Mayor or Member of the City Council may
prepare and submit to the Elections Official for printing and circulation a candidate's
Ordinance No. 1820
Page 2
profile on an appropriate form provided by the Elections Official. The profile may
include only the name, age, and occupation of the candidate and a brief description, in
no more than 200 words, of the candidate's education and qualifications expressed by
the candidate himself or herself. Any candidate profile submitted pursuant to this
section shall be limited to a recitation of the candidate's own personal background and
qualifications, candidate's qualifications, character, or activities. The profile shall not
include the party affiliation of the candidate, nor membership or activity in partisan
political organizations.
(c) The Elections Official shall not cause to be printed or circulated any profile
which the Elections Official determines does not comply with the provisions of this
Section. The Elections Official, in his or her sole discretion, after first attempting to
consult with the candidate, may strike or modify the portion or portions of the candidate
profile that is not in compliance with this Section and thereafter cause to be printed and
circulated the candidate's statement as redacted or modified.
(d) The decisions of the City Elections Official under this Section are final,
subject only to review by the Superior Court in accordance with state law.
(e) Notwithstanding the 200-word limitation set forth in subsection (b), the City
Council, by resolution, may authorize and increase the limitation on words from 200 to
400 words.
SECTION 2. This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after adoption, and
the Mayor shall sign and the City Clerk is hereby ordered and directed to codify the
passage of the Ordinance, and to cause the same or a summary thereof to be duly
prepared according to law and to be published in accordance with law.
PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED BY THE PALM SPRINGS CITY
COUNCIL THIS 15T" DAY OF MAY, 2013.
S!-EPHIEEN P. POUGNET, MAYOR
ATTEST:
AMES THOMPSON, CITY CLERK
Ordinance No. 1820
Page 3
CERTIFICATION
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF RIVERSIDE ) ss.
CITY OF PALM SPRINGS )
I, JAMES THOMPSON, City Clerk of the City of Palm Springs, California, do
hereby certify that Ordinance No. 1820 is a full, true, and correct copy, and was
introduced at a regular meeting of the Palm Springs City Council on the 1st day of May,
2013, and adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 15t" day of May,
2013, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Foat, Hutcheson, Lewin, Mayor Pro Tern Mills, and
Mayor Pougnet.
NOES: None.
ABSENT: None.
ABSTAIN: None.
AMES THOMPSON, CITY CLERK
City of Palm Springs, California 04/4--j-2013