INDEX
TORRANCE CI TY COUNCIL -AUGUST 31, 2022
SUBJECT PAGE
OPENING CEREMONIES
1. Call to Order/Roll Call 1
2. Flag Salute/Invocation 1
3. Affidavit of Posting/Waive Further Reading 1
4. Oral Communications 1
5. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
5A. Appointment to Fill District 2 City Council Vacancy (Continued from August 23, 2022) 1-4
58. Accept and File Information on Holding a Standalone Municipal Election 4-6 5C. Adopt RESOLUTIONS Calling a Special Municipal Election on March 7, 2023 6-7
5D. Confirm In-Person Council, Commission, Committee, Board, and Other City Bodies Meetings 7
6. ADJOURNMENT 7
At 8:48 p.m., the City Council adjourned to Tuesday, September 13, 2022, at 5:00 p.m. for closed session, with regular business commencing at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber. Tuesday, September 6, 2022, is a Council Dark Night.
Aleksander Alderete
Minutes Secretary
City Council
August 31, 2022
August 31, 2022
MINUTES OF A SPECIAL MEETING
OF THE TORRANCE CITY COUNCIL
1. CALL TO ORDER
The Torrance City Council convened in a special meeting on August 31, 2022, at 7:00 p.m . in the Council Chamber.
ROLL CALL
Present:
Absent:
Councilmembers Kaji, Kalani, Griffiths, Mattucci, Sheikh and Mayor Chen None
Present: City Manager Chaparyan, City Attorney Sullivan, City Clerk Rebecca Poirier and
other staff representatives
2. FLAG SALUTE/ INVOCATION
The flag salute was led by Councilmember Mattucci.
The non-sectarian invocation was given by Councilmember Sheikh.
3. REPORT OF CITY CLERK ON POSTING OF THE AGENDA/ MOTION TO
WAIVE FURTHER READING
City Clerk Rebecca Poirier reported that the agenda was posted on the Public Notice Board at 3031 Torrance Boulevard and on the City's website on Tuesday, August 30, 2022.
MOTION: Councilmember Griffiths moved that after the City Clerk has read aloud the number and title of any resolution or ordinance on the meeting agenda, the further reading thereof shall be waived, reserving and guaranteeing to each Councilmember the right to demand the reading of any such resolution or ordinance in regular order. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Mattucci and passed by 6-0.
4. ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
Members of the public spoke.
5. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS
SA. APPOINTMENT TO FILL DISTRICT 2 CITY COUNCIL VACANCY (CONTINUED FROM AUGUST 23, 2022)
Recommendation of the City Clerk that City Council take action to fill the District 2 vacancy on the City Council by appointment from the three nominated applicants.
City Clerk Poirier introduced the item and read how the process of appointing to the City Council.
Councilmember Griffiths disclosed that he met and spoke with all three applicants again since the last meeting. He said that his mind was not changed and that the most experienced candidate should be picked. ·
Aleksander Alderete
Minutes Secretary 1
City Council
August 31, 2022
Councilmember Kalani disclosed that she met and spoke with all three applicants again since the last meeting. She said that she spoke with different employee groups in the city and various commissioners in Torrance, as well as residents. She said her decision would be based on the evidence presented during the meeting.
Councilmember Sheikh disclosed that he spoke with all three candidates. He said he took public input into account as well as the experience of the candidates.
Councilmember Mattucci stated that common ideologies were paramount when picking a candidate. He said all three candidates were qualified but that he would support his ideology when choosing a new councilmember.
Councilmember Kaji disclosed that he spoke with all three candidates. He said he spoke with residents in District 2 and commissioners who worked with the candidates.
Mayor Chen said they do their due diligence on candidates and nominated Alan Masnek.
Councilmember Griffiths nominated Bridgett Lewis.
City Attorney Sullivan stated that motions of reconsideration were covered under 3.6 of the Council Rules of Order. He said the City Council could reconsider any action taken, once at the meeting when it takes the qction and once within the succeeding two meetings. He continued that this vote could be reconsidered or if it was something at the last meeting such as the "coin toss" decision then the motion would need to be raised at the current meeting. He said because it is not on the agenda then another meeting would need to be set in order to consider whether or not to reconsider to have a "coin toss" or not. Then, if that motion passed, there would be another meeting to have the reconsideration to actually do the "coin toss".
Councilmember Kaji asked for concurrence from the City Council for reconsideration of consideration of the coin toss.
Councilmember Kalani stressed the importance of the seat and that she would not put a price on democracy.
Councilmember Mattucci said a coin toss should be given as an option considering the amount of money possibly spent on a special election.
There was no concurrence from the City Council on the reconsideration of consideration of a coin toss.
Councilmember Griffiths read out his experience of appointing councilmembers. He said impasses such as these were not common and that choosing someone without reasonable experiences would be a disservice. He said the voters should have a say if the City Council could not come to a decision.
Councilmember Kaji said that he garnered the support of those in his district and would make his decisions to accomplish tasks on their behalf. He stated that Mayor Chen was elected on a mandate in his previous elections in District 2 and so his recommendation is important. He said it should be up to District 2 to vote even it is a year and a half. He said, while Torrance needed to be more fiscally responsible, the cost of the elections should not be the impediment to allowing those in District 2 a voice.
Aleksander Alderete
Minutes Secretary 2
City Council
August 31, 2022
Councilmember Kalani said that while they were elected by their districts, they serve the city. She said the emails were one way to listen to District 2. She said Ms. Lewis would be qualified to bring business and tourism to Torrance. She said she brings recommendations for the Port of Long Beach to be successful and a contributor to the Torrance region. She said that Ms. Lewis forwarded more organizations for Torrance to use in the goal of eliminating homelessness. She said she could address SB9, SB10 and the RHNA numbers through her experience in urban planning and her education. She continued that Ms. Lewis knows how to handle the challenges of the Police Department and her experience with the budget at the Port of Long Beach could aid Torrance.
A vote was taken and ended with a tie as follows :
Councilmember Griffiths, Councilmember Kalani, and Councilmember Sheikh voted for Bridgett Lewis.
Mayor Chen, Councilmember Mattucci and Councilmember Kaji voted for Alan Masnek.
Item 5A was reopened at this time after being closed previously.
The Mayor requested the candidates to speak for three minutes.
Bridgett Lewis emphasized municipal policies should not be partisan. She said that she has been a democrat and a republican and has compromised with her parents who were split politically . • She continued that the funds on a standalone election should be spent on better items such as more tiny villages and that a standalone election would not give ample time to work for Torrance.
Alan Masnek stated that California is a great state that has become ungovernable. He continued that Torrance has been shielded from poor state policies and would continue to support Torrance in that fight.
Elizabeth Pino stated that she supports Ms. Lewis in the appointment process .
Councilmember Griffiths said that he was the one who called Mr. Masnek to ask that he withdraw from consideration in order to save face for the city. He said that he was unqualified for the position after interviewing him and does not regret making the request as it was also up to him to make his own decision.
Members of the public spoke.
Councilmember Kalani implored her fellow councilmembers to consider Ms. Lewis. She said they had a duty to serve Torrance and coming together was important.
A vote was taken as follows:
Councilmember Griffiths, Councilmember Kalani, Councilmember Sheikh, and Mayor Chen voted for Ms. Lewis.
Councilmember Mattucci, Councilmember Kaji voted for Mr. Masnek.
MOTION: Councilmember Griffiths moved to accept the appointment of Commissioner Lewis to the City Council position for District 2. Councilmember Sheikh seconded the motion. The motion carried in a vote of 6-0.
Aleksander Alderete
Minutes Secretary 3
City Council
August 31, 2022
Mayor Chen reminded the public that the City Council does its best to serve the people and their will.
City Clerk Poirier gave the oath of office to incoming Councilmember Lewis . 5B . ACCEPT AND FILE INFORMATION ON HOLDING A STANDALONE MUNICIPAL
ELECTION
Recommendation of the City Clerk that City Council accept and file information on holding a standalone election.
City Clerk Poirier stated that Councilmember Griffiths requested this information be brought forward at a prior council meeting. She stated she is still in the process of researching additional information. She continued that Mayor Chen requested the information brought forward at the special meeting to consider the possibilities of holding a standalone election if a special election is called. It would not be feasible to hold a standalone election for the special election.
The residents of Torrance deserve a well thought out and planned election, six months is not enough time to prepare for the first standalone election in eighteen years. The contracts would have to initiated, approved by the City Attorney's Office and the City Manager and/or City Council.
The City Clerk's Office does not have the staffing level to support this at this time. City Clerk Poirier stated she has experience running standalone election's, it's been fourteen years since she has done so and processes have changed.
City Clerk Poirier addressed both options for standalone elections based on our current status which would be either a Vote Center model or Polling Location model election and the second option based on if Council adopts an ordinance to hold an all-mail ballot standalone election. A standalone election is an election that the City conducts without the assistance of the Los Angeles County Registrar Recorder / County Clerk (LARRCC). The City Clerk, as the elections official would secure consultants and vendors to handle various aspects of the election.
She provided background on City of Torrance elections. In 2004, Torrance residents voted to change date of holding the general municipal election to the same day as the statewide direct primary election in even numbered years. The thought behind this was to increase voter turnout.
Since then the voter turnout has ranged from 27% to as high as 47%. Prior to that the percentage turnout ranged from 9% to 83% based on the election ballot.
In 2015, California Senate Bill 415 required all cities to consolidate with the LARRCC. The City of Torrance was already consolidated so the city wasn't affected. The effect AB415 had was to cause many election consultants like Martin and Chapman and other vendors who assisted municipalities with their elections to go out of business.
In March of 2020, the City of Redondo Beach, also a charter city like Torrance, filed a lawsuit against the Secretary of State, challenging the California's Voter Participation Rights Act (VPRA) on the grounds it improperly infringed the authority charter cities had by article XI, section 5, of the California Constitution to schedule their own elections for local offices. California's Second District Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the City of Redondo Beach and affirmed the Los Angeles County Superior Court September 2018 ruling that City of Redondo Beach, as a charter city, does not have to comply with the California Senate Bill 415. This ruling allows all charter cities to hold standalone elections.
Aleksander Alderete
Minutes Secretary 4
City Council
August 31, 2022
On September 18, 2020, the California Governor approved Senate Bill 970 which changed the statewide primary dates to alternating between March when there is a presidential primary and June when there is not a presidential primary. The City's charter states that the city's election will be held on the statewide primary election. This means that the City of Torrance election will be held in March of even numbered years every four years and in the alternating years, will be held in June of even numbered years. City Clerk Poirier stated she had brought an item to Council prior to have a measure placed on the ballot to change the City of Torrance election date, however, Council declined at that time.
City Clerk Poirier stated that currently five cities hold standalone elections, Temple City, Cerritos, Lancaster, Whittier, and Redondo Beach. Temple City holds their elections in on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in March of even numbered years. During the year where there is no presidential primary, they hold a standalone election. During the year there is a presidential primary, they consolidate with the LARRCC to prevent voter disenfranchisement. Cerritos, Lancaster, and Whittier hold their elections on the second Tuesday in April of even numbered years. The City of Redondo Beach holds their all-mail ballot elections in March of odd numbered years.
For the City to hold a standalone election on the statewide primary election, it would be conducting a concurrent election. A concurrent election means that the LARRCC would be holding an election for county, state, and federal candidates and measures on the same day as the city's general municipal election for local offices. Based on the City's charter, that means the City would be competing with the LARRCC for locations to host either Vote Centers or Polling Locations. It should be noted that the LARRCC would not be available to assist the City of Torrance with any aspects of the election such as signature verification. For precinct maps, the LARRCC would provide raw data which the City Clerk would have to filter to locate and create City of Torrance precinct maps. In addition, since in person elections would be held, the City Clerk's Office would have to identify and recruit residents to work in the Vote Centers or Polling locations. The City would be competing with the LARRCC for pollworkers. The quote for Redondo Beach's current standalone election for one district does not include the cost of pollworkers.
City of Torrance voters would have two separate ballots to vote on. One for the county, state, and federal offices and measures and one for only local offices. One ballot would be returned to the LARRCC and one ballot would be returned to the City Clerk's office. Voters will be disenfranchised and may experience voter fatigue. Local ballots will not be able to turned in anywhere in LA County as they can be now. They would not be able to drop their city ballot in any of the LARRCC drop boxes. This would be the case for either an in person election or an all-mail ballot election.
The City Clerk would have to locate and enter into contracts with consultants and vendors who are registered and approved by the Secretary of State to handle the aspects of the election that the LARRCC currently handles for us. Since Martin and Chapman went out of business, no single consultant or vendor does everything election related.
For example, one vendor provides the election equipment needed such as ballot counters and provides a consultant to run the machine on election night, one vendor would print voter information pamphlets and the ballots for the City Clerk's Office to have mailed out, one vendor would provide software to verify ballots being sent to residents, ballots returned from residents, and signature verification, an MOU with the LARRCC would be required to receive permission to receive the voter signature files, and a ballot mail tracking vendor would be needed for tracking the ballots through the US Mail.
Aleksander Alderete
Minutes Secretary 5
City Council
August 31, 2022
There is also a vendor who offers the electronic voting experience that voters are now used to in the LARRCC Vote Center model. Again, voters would have to visit two separate places to vote on the two different ballots.
The Secretary of State's website has approved vendors on their website. The City Clerk is still researching all the possible vendors and obtaining quotes.
City Clerk Poirier stated she will be attending the October 19 Recall Election in Redondo Beach, shadowing the City Clerk to see how the process works with multiple vendors.
City Clerk Poirier stated while it would be less expensive for the City to return to standalone elections, the main concern is the date our elections. Voter fatigue and confusion over voting on multiple ballots were bound to occur. The City Council could place a measure on the ballot to amend our charter to change the elections date or remove the date entirely, which would allow the City Council to set the election date by Ordinance on a non established election day.
Members of the public spoke .
MOTION: Councilmember Mattucci moved to accept and file information on holding a standalone municipal election.
Councilmember Sheikh relayed that Ms. Lewis was the most qualified candidate and that the public was the most important factor rather than ideology. He requested Mr. Masnek drop out from the race to save the city money.
MOTION CONTINUED: Councilmember Kaji seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 6-0.
Councilmember Kaji stated he has received calls in support of Mr. Masnek. He continued that he found the action of requesting Mr. Masnek withdrawing by another councilmember to be unprofessional.
Councilmember Sheikh said he was not the one who made a closed-door conversation with Mr. Masnek.
Councilmember Mattucci stressed that saving the city needed funds was paramount and that the City Council should reconsider the coin toss.
MOTION: Councilmember Mattucci moved to reconsider 5A and reopen it for discussion .
Councilmember Kalani seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 6-0.
SC. ADOPT RESOLUTIONS CALLING A SPECIAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION ON MARCH 7, 2023
Recommendation of the City Clerk that City Council:
1) Adopt a RESOLUTION calling a Special Municipal Election on Tuesday, March 7, 2023 for the purpose of electing a Councilmember for District 2; and 2) Adopt a RESOLUTION requesting the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to agree to consolidate the election with the Los Angeles County Registrar Recorder/County Clerk; and
Aleksander Alderete
Minutes Secretary 6
City Council
August 31, 2022
3) Adopt a RESOLUTION stating policy and regulations for candidate's statements; and 4) Appropriate $546,000 from the fund balance of the General Fund Operating Fund to the City Clerk Operating Budget.
Item 5C was withdrawn.
SD. CONFIRM IN-PERSON COUNCIL, COMMISSION, COMMITTEE, BOARD, AND OTHER
CITY BODIES MEETINGS
Recommendation of the City Manager and City Attorney that City Council:
1) Confirm in-person Council, Commission, Committee, Board, and Other City Bodies meetings; and
2) Discontinue adherence to compliance with AB 361.
City Attorney Sullivan introduced the item and read the report to the City Council. He said the City Council has been in person and most city bodies have been back in person. He said this would confirm meeting in person. He said a spike in COVID-19 or any other reason then the City Council could go back to virtual meetings under AB361 confirming the City Council's action from before.
MOTION: Councilmember Kalani moved to confirm in-person council, commission, committee, board, and other city bodies meetings and discontinue adherence to compliance with AB361. Councilmember Griffiths seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 6-0.
6. ADJOURNMENT
At 8:48 p.m., the City Council adjourned to Tuesday, September 13, 2022, at 5:00 p.m . for closed session, with regular business commencing at 6:30 p.m. in the Council Chamber.
Tuesday, September 6, 2022, is a Council Dark Night.
MOTION: Councilmember Kalani moved to adjourn the City Council meeting .
Councilmember Kaji seconded the motion. The motion carried by a vote of 6-0.
V
Rebec c o mer
City Clerk of the City of Torrance
Aleksander Alderete
Minutes Secretary
Mayoro the City of Torrance
Approved on September 27, 2022
7 City Council
August 31, 2022