Orange County NC Website
20 <br />PUBLIC COMMENT: <br />Tony Blake said Commissioner Dorosin was kind enough to respond to his email, and <br />provided more current conversations that have taken place. He said he supports the <br />discussion and thinks improvements could be made, but he has the following concerns <br />about pushing this change through too quickly. He summarized his concerns: <br />As is stands right now, the "voting method" agenda item 6-b lacks <br />definition and a suggested plan/model for discussion. <br />Discussion of changing the voting method is too important to be rushed. <br />Data is old and there is not enough time to collect/update the data, have <br />the discussion and get feedback before the 2020, election. <br />A target of 2020 would put a lot of pressure on staff who are already <br />dealing with emergency conditions and budget concerns. <br />Meeting "virtually" is still somewhat less effective than face to face. <br />Part of the BOCC is "lame duck", and it is important that the newly elected <br />commissioners be a part of driving this conversation. <br />The 2020 census results may change things and require a new look within <br />2 years, resulting in wasted efforts. <br />Commissioner Dorosin thanked Tony Blake for his comments, and others the <br />BOCC received. <br />Commissioner Dorosin said he does not have concerns about the 2020 primary, <br />but rather the primary illustrated some if the issues that have been discussed in Orange <br />County for the past few years. <br />Commissioner Dorosin summarized his comments, which are in the agenda. He <br />said he has been talking about this since 2016, and this is an on-going issue with the <br />Board but the Board has not made any decisions. He said November is the earliest <br />possible time to make changes, and that may be too soon, but if the majority of the <br />Board does not want to do anything, then it should vote as such, and move on. He said it <br />is his preference that the County moves to 7 single-member districts. He said the <br />primary highlighted that the district one presidential year race is the only seat on the <br />county commission that is a multimember election, and all others are single member <br />elections. He said the multimember seat is the only multimember seat on the ballot, <br />which is confusing to the public. <br />Commissioner Dorosin said they need an electoral system where commissioners <br />are all elected the same way, and that is by single member districts. He said another <br />important issue is that the County will have to draw the districts once the census comes <br />out, and it is important for the BOCC to make decisions now and do everything at one <br />time. <br />Commissioner Dorosin said there have been concerns that going to single <br />member districts will lead to dominance by the southern part of Orange County, i.e.: <br />Chapel Hill and Carrboro. He said he feels these concerns are overblown, and in the last <br />two at large elections residents have elected representatives that live in the Chapel Hill <br />area. <br />Commissioner Dorosin said one of the challenges with multi-member districts, is <br />that they encourage voters to do single shot voting. He said this is a legitimate strategy, <br />but not necessarily a fair one. <br />Commissioner Marcoplos said this is a complicated issue. He said in 1992 there <br />was a group who discussed this, and recommended cumulative voting. He said he <br />disagrees that single district is the most democratic way to go, and proportional <br />representation is used by a majority of countries around the world, and does not require <br />districts. He agreed it is important to not rush this discussion, and to engage the public. <br />7