Minutes 09-06-2018 Work Session - Laserfiche WebLink

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17 but rather issue-to-issue, with members swinging back and forth. He said going to district- nominate and district-elect will take away the argument of some people in district 2 that say, “we nominate, but the whole County elects.” He said there is a perception of unfairness. Commissioner Price said the perception is, “we nominate, and Chapel Hill elects.” Commissioner McKee said the most equitable thing is to go to district-nominates and district-elects. He said he thinks it is possible for a republican, independent, or green candidate to win if one can get on the ballot and run a strong campaign. Chair Dorosin asked John Roberts if legislative involvement was required for the County wants to go to 4-3. John Roberts said no, that would not require legislative approval. Commissioner McKee said some options would require legislative involvement. John Roberts said pure districts do not require legislative involvement; the County could go can go to 7 districts and not go to legislature. Commissioner Marcoplos said going with 7 districts would lead to it all going pie shaped towards Chapel Hill, which would be ridiculous. Commissioner Marcoplos said he has immersed himself in this issue more than anyone, and has studied it for many years. He said his goal is to enhance democracy, and the only way to provide fair representation is to go over to proportional representation, instant run off, or cumulative voting, etc. He said FairVote.org gives a lot of information, but this would require going to the legislature, and that would never work. He said the suggested “district-nominate/ district-elect” is a waste of money and time, would change nothing, and it does not accomplish the goal of increasing democracy, and, as such, he cannot support it. He said democrats will always win in Orange County for the foreseeable future, which is the root of the issue for folks. He is not in favor of using taxpayer money to address symbolism, and the Board has better things to do with its energy, and should give this up for now. Commissioner Burroughs said Carrboro used to be an incredibly conservative mill town, and has flipped in the last 30-40 years. She said the foreseeable future is not that far. Commissioner Rich said she shared her thoughts over the summer with Chair Dorosin, and she would like to hear from the voters. She said a way to do this is to set up a committee, and have public sessions throughout the County for resident input. She said any type of committee would have to have a charge from the Board of County Commissioners. She said Chatham County is doing something similar, as it is considering increasing its number of board members and the way of doing elections. Commissioner Rich proposed the creation of a committee to research this, noting that when the County went from 5-7 board members, there was an internal committee that came back with recommendations. She proposed creating a committee that does more than hold two public hearings. She said a decision is not needed until late 2019, so there is plenty of time to hear from the public. Commissioner McKee said conversation would be good, but he is hell bent on his proposed changes. He agreed that this would be merely symbolic, but Orange County spends money on symbolic issues all the time. He said it will not change the power structure, but it is impossible to have anyone other than a democrat win with the current process of elections. He said district-nominate/district-elect could offer a good candidate, running a good campaign on the issues, instead of ideas, the chance to win, which will level the playing field. Commissioner Marcoplos said if the Board makes this change, he will make a good bet with Commissioner McKee. Chair Dorosin said a committee involving citizens is a good idea. Chair Dorosin said any change the Board can make to make this more democratic is good, and he suggested adding the cumulative voting issue to North Carolina Association of County Commissioners (NCACC) legislative agenda. He said he would go further than what