Alameda Point Revitalization Initiative Election Date Set for February 2, 2010
At last night’s Alameda City Council meeting, Council voted 3-1-1 to place SunCal’s Alameda Point Revitalization Initiative on the ballot for February 2, 2010.
According to the City staff report, the initiative will be referred to on the ballot as “MEASURE: Alameda Point Development Initiative”
Councilmember Frank Matarrese moved to set the ballot date for February 2, 2010, and Vice-Mayor Doug deHaan seconded the motion. Mayor Beverly Johnson, deHaan and Matarrese voted in favor, Councilmember Lena Tam opposed and Councilmember Marie Gilmore abstained.
The vote came after a lengthy council discussion about possible different dates for the election, including dates in April or November of 2010, or June 8, 2010. During the public comment period, several speakers on both sides of the issue also declared a preference for different election dates.
The motion passed after a failed motion by Councilmember Tam, who moved to set the election date for June 8, 2010, in the face of advice from City Attorney Teresa Highsmith that such an action would be in violation of state election law as understood by herself and outside attorneys who interpreted the election code and the initiative. Councilmember Gilmore seconded Tam’s motion, which failed on a 3-2 vote. In late September, when SunCal submitted their initiative signatures for certification, Tam was quoted in a SunCal press release as supporting the plan. (SunCal later removed Tam’s statement from their press release, after we wrote about it.)
Citizen proponents of SunCal’s initiative advocated for a June election date, asking for more time for “negotiations” between SunCal and the City over problematic parts of the initiative that prompted Johnson, deHaan and Matarrese to speak out against it at different times over the past couple of months. But both Johnson and deHaan reminded the audience that “the initiative is the initiative and it cannot be changed.” Several speakers opposed to the initiative cautioned against “doubtful promises” that SunCal is making about the development but which aren’t codified in the initiative or other binding agreements. Apparently this was in reference to the negotiations between SunCal and City of Alameda.
Timeline
After the vote, the City Clerk articulated the following timeline for the election and milestones leading up to it:
February 2, 2010 – Election Day
January 26, 2010 – Last day to apply to vote by mail
January 4, 2010 – Absentee ballots mailed out
December 24 to January 12, 2010 – Sample ballots mailed out
November 13, 2009 – Alameda County of Registrar suggested deadline for arguments for the voter pamphlet. (Although the City Clerk indicated that she would likely move this date back a few days to allow more time for arguments to be written.)
Tags: 94501, 94502, Alameda, SunCal Plans for Alameda Point
