Election results for the Peninsula Community Planning Board (PCPB) remain in limbo this week, despite a spirited three-hour meeting Thursday, April 19, to sort out possible election miscues and to certify the final March vote count.
Board member Katheryn Rhodes made a motion to ask the City Council about adding another seat to the current 15-member board. The motion passed 5-4. As a result, the board will await the council’s decision before certifying the election results.
The matter, however, will likely not be placed on the City Council agenda until after May ” possibly beyond ” because more pressing priorities are pushing planning issues across the city onto a back burner, according to Pam Hardy, communications director for San Diego City Council President Scott Peterson.
The point of contention during the PCPB board meeting was whether the results of the board’s March election were valid.
Specifically, the question was whether incumbent Cynthia Conger would keep her seat on the board, or if newcomer Darrold Davis would be replace her after he received the second-highest number of votes in March.
Conger was not present during the meeting, and Davis did not comment during the debate.
An amendment apparently added to the PCPB bylaws in 2000 states that a prospective board member must have attended at least one of the last six regularly scheduled monthly meetings before the election to be an eligible candidate.
According to attendance lists kept for such meetings, Davis did not attend a regularly scheduled meeting during that time frame.
However, Deputy City Attorney Alex Sachs said during the
April 19 PCPB meeting that a March 14 candidate forum, which was not a monthly board meeting, could be considered as a board meeting under open meeting provisions of the Brown Act.
Several of the board members disagreed with Sachs’ assessment.
“The board didn’t talk about any official business at that meeting,” board member Geoff Page said.
Another board member, Maggie Valentine, added that it “seemed ludicrous” to consider the March 14 event an official board meeting since the board members were not required to attend that day.
Davis was reportedly not made aware of the attendance requirement with sufficient time before the election and was allowed to run.
Gregg Robinson, chair of the board’s elections committee, apologized for the oversight and took responsibility for the mistake.
He also offered to resign his seat, creating a scenario that would allow both Conger and Davis to become board members.
Sachs also said the city had no record of the 2000 amendment.
“It is very disappointing that the city could not find the records of the amendment,” Page said.
According to Sachs, official board meetings must have at least eight of the 15 board members to create a quorum “” the minimum number of members needed to take action on items.
Members of the board must also help facilitate and participate in the event.
Based on Sachs’ definition, the candidate quorum could be considered an official board meeting because eight board members were present.
However, board members objected to Sach’s assessment during the April 19 meeting, saying the candidate forum was not intended for regular board decision-making or policy issues.
Sachs added that according to the PCPB bylaws candidates must receive a majority vote to be elected, meaning at least
50 percent of the total vote.
Jay Schumacher was the only candidate to receive such a majority.
Sachs recommended a run-off election among the other five candidates, but he was uncertain if any new candidates could be allowed to participate.
The next meeting of the PCPB is scheduled for Thursday, May 17, at 6:30 p.m. at the Point Loma Library, 3701 Voltaire St.