Here's Your St. Pete Election Guide Explaining 7 Amendments On Ballot

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — Besides voting for the next mayor of St. Petersburg Tuesday, registered voters will also decide on seven charter amendments and a possible tax exemption for local businesses.

Below, Patch has provided a list of amendments you will see on your ballot along with what they mean according to city documents.

No. 1 Charter Amendment

Currently, city council members are chosen by primary election votes combined with general election (citywide) votes under a hybrid system. Voters from outside a district can override the preferences of voters within the district, which undermines the ability of the voters within a district to elect a candidate of choice, according to city documents.

Observations by the Charter Review Commission with the current voting system are:

• Because running a City-wide campaign is necessarily more expensive than running a district-specific campaign, the requirement that every candidate for city council run a citywide campaign at the general election stage also unfairly favors wealthy candidates and those with access to wealthier donors.
• That issue is particularly problematic when it comes to minority representation on City
  Council, city officials said. According to an analysis performed by the Southern Poverty Law Center, “[o]f the five general elections that have taken place between 1999–2017 where the election was between a white and Black candidate, the Black City Council candidate has only won against the white candidate once, in 2005. Since 2005, Black candidates have lost every general election when their opponent was white, even though these races only occurred in districts 5 and 6, which are majority-minority districts.”

Ballot language: Limiting City Council Elections to Voters in the Applicable Council District and Making Related Changes Currently, City Council Members are elected through primary elections limited to voters in the Council district and general elections open to all City voters. Shall the Charter be amended to (i) limit primary and general elections for Council Members to voters in the Council district, thereby eliminating City-wide voting for Council Members; (ii) allow a candidate receiving more than 50 percent of votes in the primary to be elected; and (iii) make other clarifying changes?

No. 2 Charter Amendment—Establishing new process for drawing district boundaries for election of city council members.

Currently, re-examination of council members is required every ten years, in conjunction with the regular United States decennial census, according to city documents.

• "If approved, the new process should promote the independence and integrity of the commissioners by establishing requirements for eligibility, restrictions on certain activities, and required disclosures," city documents said. One of the requirements listed for eligibility is a city council member will have to live in the district they're elected 12 months after taking office. Currently, the requirement is listed as candidate must have lived in the district they are running for at least 12 months preceding election.

Ballot: Shall the city create a new process for establishing city council district boundaries that (i) uses comprehensive standards for drawing equitable district boundaries; (ii) has requirements and restrictions for appointment, service, communication, and and accepting public comment; and (iii) requires city council to be bound by commission recommendations unless inconsistent with applicable law? The new process would occur every ten years and maintain the existing nine-member citizens commission appointed by the mayor and council members.

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• No. 3 Charter Amendment — City Equity Officer

Charter Review Staff proposes to establish an equity framework for the city to eliminate equity gaps. A chief equity officer for the city role would be created if approved.

" A long history of racial discrimination and disinvestment in {Pinellas County} communities of color has created entrenched and persistent racial inequities in employment, income, wealth, education, health, justice, housing and transportation," Charter Review Commission said.

Ballot: Analysis of demographic and economic data for Pinellas County indicates that the region’s economy would benefit from eliminating equity gaps based on race,ethnicity, or other immutable characteristics. Shall the City Charter be amended to establish an equity framework intended to address those equity gaps? That framework must include an equity action plan implemented at City-wide and departmental levels, regular assessment and reporting, and the creation of a Chief Equity Officer for the City.

• No. 4 Charter Amendment—Establishing a requirement for Charter-protected equity funding

The protection would address equity gaps and prevent that funding from being use for other purposes, while still allowing for other, unrestricted funding to be used for equity-related initiatives, city documents said.

Ballot:

Analysis of demographic and economic data for Pinellas County indicates that
the region’s economy would benefit from eliminating equity gaps based on race,
ethnicity, or other immutable characteristics. Shall the City Charter be amended
to require that the City designate “Charter-protected equity funding” to address
those equity gaps and prevent that funding from being used for other purposes?
This amendment would not prohibit the City from funding equity-related initiatives with other unrestricted, funding.

• No. 5 Charter Amendment—Establishing new requirements related to City Administrator,
  City Clerk, and City Council Administrative Officer

The proposal adds a residency requirement and clarifying duties of the city administrator; clarifying duties of and protections afforded to the city clerk; elevating the city council administrative officer to a charter position with protections similar to the city clerk; and making other related changes. All of the changes suggested can be read here.

Ballot:

The Charter provides requirements and duties for certain City officials appointed by the Mayor with consent of City Council. Shall the Charter be amended

to (i) add a residency requirement for the City Administrator; (ii) clarify that the
City Clerk serves both Mayor and Council and may be removed only with consent
of both; (iii) provide the City Council Administrative Officer with duties and protections similar to the City Clerk; and (iv) make related changes?

Patch Related Story: 2 Differing Plans For Future Of Rays Discussed At Mayoral Debate

No. 6 Charter Amendment—Changing the City’s Charter-review process to avoid conflict with redistricting and make other improvements

Currently, both the Charter-review process and the redistricting process are scheduled to
occur every 10 years, in years ending in one, city document said. As a result, the two processes either overlap or occur in very close proximity.

Minimum or no time between the processes forces the city to do one of the following: implement the changes to redistricting in an expedited manner; delay redistricting to implement the changes in full; or conduct redistricting under the prior standards implemented only when the next redistricting occurs (which may not be for another 10 years).

The change proposed, charter-review process should occur two years before the redistricting process to improve coordination between the two.

Ballot:

Every ten years, the City conducts a Charter-review process to consider the

operation of City government and propose amendments to the Charter. Issues
occur when the Charter-review process changes the process for redrawing City
Council districts because the two processes are scheduled to occur almost
simultaneously. Shall the Charter be amended to resolve that scheduling
conflict and to make other changes to improve the administration and integrity
of the City’s Charter-review process?

No. 7 Charter Amendment— Adding a preamble to describe the spirit of the Charter and
the City’s governing philosophy

Following the adoption of the Municipal Home Rule Powers Act of 1973, the city was authorized to adopt its own charter, and the city did so in 1975 through the adoption of city ordinance, according to the city of St. Petersburg's website. The current charter used in St. Petersburg is the one from 1975. It does not include the city's future goals, visions, values and priorities.

If approved by voters, the following preamble would be added to the beginning of the city charter:

"We the people of St. Petersburg, under the constitution and laws of the state of Florida, in order to secure the benefits of local, responsive self-government that provides for the greatest common good, do hereby adopt this Charter. Reflecting our shared vision, St. Petersburg will be a city of opportunity for all who come to live, work, and play. We will be an innovative, creative, and competitive community that acknowledges our past while pursuing our future. Accordingly, this

charter will advance the City’s values of civic engagement, inclusive prosperity, and cultural vibrancy in a way that is supported by a shared commitment to equity, environmental stewardship, education, public health, arts and world class recreation.

"By this action, we secure the benefits of home rule, affirm the values of representative democracy, and assert the importance of inclusive citizen
engagement.

"In keeping with a commitment to more effectively represent the interests of every citizen, we commit that, as frequently as this Charter is reviewed, community members will convene to affirm and improve our structure of government with intentional priority on those self-evident determinants that work to define residents’ opportunities and quality of life. This Charter affirms the City’s values and strives to ensure a living framework to help build an ever
more inclusive, engaged St. Petersburg, where everyone experiences belonging, fairness, human rights, and fundamental freedoms."

Ballot:

Shall the Charter be amended to add a preamble containing a concise statement to describe the spirit of the Charter and the City’s governing philosophy? That aspirational statement will describe the City’s vision, goals, values, and priorities while acknowledging past shortcomings and promising a renewed and continuing commitment to improving the quality of life for all citizens.

Read here for more information about the 2021 General Election ballot.