If you plan to vote in the 2012 election, chances are you have a pretty good idea about how you are voting to fill national, state and local offices, but you may not have fully examined the nine proposed amendments to College Stations’ City Charter.
If you wait until you vote, you may find the ballot language a bit confusing, so it’s important to know what you are voting for – or against – before you head to your polling place. In the next few days, we’ll be blogging about each of the proposed amendments to help clarify what each proposition means.
Here’s the blog schedule:
- Tuesday: Amendments 1 & 3 (Initiative, Referendum and Recall).
- Wednesday: Amendments 2 (City Council Vacancies) & 5 (General Provisions – Calendar Days).
- Thursday: Amendments 6 & 7 (Franchises and Public Utilities).
- Friday: Proposition 8 (General Provisions – Personal Interest).
- Saturday: Proposition 4 & 9 (General Provisions – Oath of Office/Gender Neutrality).
One more thing: When you vote, be sure to scroll to the bottom of the ballot to participate in your local elections. Since municipal elections are non-partisan, a straight-party vote will not include these important items. You must vote for these issues separately. Click here to view a sample ballot.
Why are the changes being proposed?
After reviewing the city charter for more than a year, the nine-member Citizens’ Charter Review Advisory Commission recommended eight charter amendments in May. The commission’s stated mission was to:
“Review the city charter and make charter amendment recommendations, where appropriate, that will help protect the rights, powers and benefits of all College Station residents.”
Most of the recommendations simply bring the charter in line with state law or clarify and update language. The city council later added a ninth proposition about conflict of interest for council members.
Early voting starts today and runs through Nov. 2. For complete voter information, go to cstx.gov/elections or brazosvotes.org.
