CSJ - June 7,
2005 City Council District 7 Special Election
Council District 7
Information for Candidates
Date of Special Municipal Election: June 7, 2005
Date of Runoff (If necessary): September 13, 2005
VACANCY
There is
currently a vacancy in Office of Council Member – District 7. The San José City Council has decided to fill the vacancy by
special election.
TERM OF
OFFICE
The
vacancy to be filled is an unexpired term ending December 31,
2006.
ELIGIBILITY
Who may run for office? (Section 404 – Charter of
the City of San
José)
To
be eligible to run for the Office of Council Member a candidate
must have been:
1) A citizen
of the United
States for at least one year
immediately preceding the commencement of the term – June 2004
if elected at the primary; by September 2004 if elected at the
runoff.
2) A resident
of Council District 7, at least 30 days immediately preceding
the last day for filing of nomination papers, i.e., by February
9, 2005. If the City Clerk cannot confirm that you
have been a resident of the District by the stated dates, proof
of residency will be required.
3) A registered voter in District 7 by February 9, 2005.
FEES
There are no fees to run
as a candidate for Council Member.
ELECTION CYCLE
The
Election Cycle for this Special Municipal Election began January
25, 2005. Candidates may now declare their intention
to run (Form 501) and set up a Campaign Committee (Form 410)
and begin collecting campaign contributions.
NOMINATION PERIOD
The nomination
period begins at 8:00 a.m. Monday, February 14, 2005 and ends
Friday, March 11, 2005 at 12:00 Noon.
NOMINATION PAPERS
Nomination papers will be available in the Office of the
City Clerk at 8:00 a.m. on Monday,
February 14, 2005. If a representative picks
up papers on behalf of a candidate, the representative must provide
to the City Clerk the name, home address, telephone, FAX, e-mail
and pager numbers of both the candidate and the representative.
1) Who may circulate?
Anyone who is a registered
voter in Council District 7, including the candidate, may circulate
nomination papers for Council Member.
2) Who may sign?
Anyone
who is an eligible registered voter in Council District 7 at
the time of signing, including the circulator and the candidate. No voter may sign more than one nomination
paper for the same office. If
a voter signs more, the voter's signature shall be considered
valid only on the petition filed first.
3) How many signatures?
At
least fifty (50) valid signatures
are required to qualify as a candidate. No
less than 50 and no more than sixty (60) signatures will be accepted or counted. Prospective candidates are encouraged to
submit the maximum of 60 signatures.
4) Where to file?
Office of the City Clerk, City Hall, 801
North First Street, Room 116, San José, California 95110.
5) When to file?
Original
nomination papers are due no later than Friday, March 11, 2005 at 12:00 Noon. Late papers
will not be accepted.
6) May nomination papers be withdrawn after they
are filed?
A
nomination paper may be withdrawn no later than 12:00 Noon, Friday,
March 11, 2005.
CANDIDATE STATEMENTS
Each candidate may prepare a Candidate Statement
of 200 words or less for inclusion in the sample ballot which
will be mailed to voters prior to the June 7, 2005 election by
the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Candidate
Statements must be filed with the Nomination Papers in the Office
of the City Clerk by Noon on Friday, March 11, 2005. Any
use of endorsements in the Candidate Statement must be accompanied
by written authorization by the endorsers and must be filed with
the Candidate Statement. A
Candidate Statement cannot be changed after it is filed, but
it may be withdrawn by 5 p.m. on Monday, March 14, 2005. Detailed
instructions will be provided to candidates at the time nomination
papers are taken out.
BALLOT DESIGNATION
Ballot Designations containing no more than three
words designating either the current principal professions, vocations
or occupations of the candidate, or the professions, vocations
or occupations of the candidate during the calendar year immediately
preceding the filing of nomination documents must be filed with
the Nomination Papers in the Office of the City Clerk by Noon
on Friday, March 11, 2005. Detailed instructions will be provided to
candidates at the time nomination papers are taken out.
STATEMENT OF ECONOMIC INTERESTS
Each candidate will be given a Statement of Economic
Interests, Form 700. The
candidate must disclose investments and interests in real property
held on the date of filing, and income received during the 12
months prior to the date of filing. Form
700 is filed with the Nomination Papers in the Office of the
City Clerk no later than Friday March 11, 2005 at 12:00 Noon.
CODE OF FAIR CAMPAIGN PRACTICES
The California State Legislature has established
a Code of Fair Campaign Practices, and encourages each candidate
for public office to subscribe to it. The
purpose of the Code is to give the voters guidelines in determining
fair play, and to encourage candidates to discuss issues, not
untruths or distortions. Subscription
to the Code is voluntary. The Code, if signed, should be returned
with the candidate's nomination papers.
BILINGUAL VOTER INFORMATION
PAMPHLETS
Election materials including candidate statements
are translated into Chinese, Spanish, Tagalog and Vietnamese. The City of San
José pays for both translation services
and the printing and distribution of the voter information pamphlets,
i.e., the sample ballot.
CAMPAIGN FINANCE DISCLOSURE
1) Each candidate will be given a series of campaign finance disclosure
forms and will file financial disclosure statements during the
election cycle. The filing
schedule will be provided by the City Clerk.
2) No candidate may solicit, accept, or deposit contributions outside of
the Campaign Contribution Period. The
Campaign Contribution Period for the June 7, 2005 election began
January 25, 2005 and ends May 31, 2005. Any
contribution received outside the Campaign Contribution Period
shall not be accepted or deposited, and shall be returned to
the contributor or donor within 5 business days.
3) No candidate may deposit personal funds into his/her campaign bank account
during the last 7 days before the election.
4) A Voluntary Expenditure Limit is in effect in the City of San José. All
candidates must determine if they will participate, or not, prior
to accepting or receiving contributions and must file Form 500. If
a candidate chooses to participate in the program, the formula
for determining the limits is $ 1.00 (One Dollar) per resident
of the district for Council candidates. The population figures
and expenditure limits for Council District 7 are as follows:
Council District 7
|
Number of Residents
94,893
|
Expenditure Limit
$94,893
|
RUNOFF ELECTION
A candidate must receive a majority of all votes
cast for the office being sought in the June 7, 2005 election
in order to be elected. If
no one candidate receives such a majority, then the two candidates
who receive the greatest number of votes will participate in
a runoff election to be held on Tuesday, September 13, 2005.
If a run-off election is necessary, run-off candidates
will have an opportunity to file a new candidate statement with
the City Clerk. Any use
of endorsements in the candidate statement must be accompanied
by written authorization by the endorsers and must be filed with
the candidate statement. Run-off
statements will be due not later than Noon Wednesday, June 15th.
Run-off candidates may submit a different ballot
designation than they used in the June election, but must do
so in writing not later than Noon on Wednesday, June 15th.
SALARY
Effective July 1, 2002, Council Member salaries are
$75,000 per year. The
Office of Council Member is a full-time position.
ORDER OF CANDIDATE NAMES ON THE BALLOT
The City Clerk has requested the
Secretary of State to conduct a special drawing of the letters
of the alphabet prior to printing the sample ballots. The
result of the drawing is known as a randomized alphabet and will
be used to determine the order of candidate names on the ballot.
GENERAL ELECTION INFORMATION
Check these links for additional
information regarding campaign fund raising and expenditure and
for general information about voting in Santa
Clara County:
· SJMC
Chapter 12.06
· CA Fair Political Practices Commission
· Link to Registrar of Voters
Contact City Clerk's Office at
(408) 277-4424 for any other questions about the election.
The
information above is general information for candidates running
for the Office of Council Member and is subject to change. Additional information will be issued, as it becomes available.
|
