Be Part of the Community Discussion on How City Elects Council
The public is invited to be part of a discussion on how Peoria elects its City Council. The city’s current system of cumulative voting for the five at large positions came about as a result of a voting rights lawsuit in 1987. While not what the plaintiffs originally wanted, it was a compromise agreed to by the city, the plaintiffs and the federal court. The 2010 census brought about the need to redistrict and after six elections using the cumulative voting format, the question has arisen, “is this system, working is it accomplishing what was intended and is it what we still want?”
In order to answer those questions we are starting an open community dialogue to better understand the interests and desires of voters and others in Peoria. This initiative is being led by Bradley’s Institute for Principled Leadership in Public Service (IPL) with support from The Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, League of Women Voters, Neighborhood Alliance African American Leadership Alliance and NAACP.
Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis says the pros & cons of cumulative voting are typically debated only during the at-large election cycle but we have a unique opportunity to engage public discussion on the issue because of the timing of the census and the need for us to establish new council districts. “I hope these community discussions will be well attended and provide the city council with strong feedback to make important decisions about the make-up of the council. Leadership provided by IPL with support from NAACP, LWV, Neighborhood Organizations and Chamber of Commerce should provide a strong foundation for good deliberations.”
Brad McMillan, IPL Director, says this is an important community issue and one that needs input from citizens and businesses. “IPL is glad to be a part of helping generate community input back to the Council as they decided whether or not to have an item on the ballot to change how we elect the Council.”
The public is invited to community meetings on Oct 26 at 7 p.m. at Bradley University at the Founder’s Room in Hartmann Center and Nov 2 at 7:00 p.m. at River West Frank Campbell community room. At each meeting, Dr. Larry Aspin, Chairman of the Political Science Department at Bradley University will share highlights from his detailed research and findings on the impact of cumulative voting in Peoria. Additionally, new potential voting systems scenarios will presented for consideration. People who attend will have an opportunity to ask questions and make suggestions on their preferred method for electing the Peoria City Council.
Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce President Roberta Parks says the Chamber is involved because while businesses don’t actually vote, they do collect and pay significant taxes to the city. “How we elect the city council is just as important to the business community as it is to residents. What we all want are good representatives and a responsive government. We are pleased to be part of this community discussion.”
After the conclusion of the two community meetings, IPL will provide the Peoria City Council with a report to help them make a decision on whether or not to place a referenda item changing how the council is elected on the spring ballot.
No registration is needed to attend these meetings. If you have questions about the meetings, please contact IPL at (309) 677-4408.