Why I Support Measure "I" -- Require elections to fill council vacancies

By Rebecca Kaplan

Rebecca Kaplan urges Oakland voters to vote Yes on Measure I, to protect our democracy and ensure that all future council vacancies will be filled by election of the voters, not appointment by the remaining council members.

I urge all Oakland voters to vote Yes on "I" -- the ballot measure which will give Oakland voters the right to elect their councilmember in all cases, and to vote No on Measure "H," the competing council-written measure which would allow the council to continue to appoint for most vacancies. The council's recent actions, deciding to allow the remaining seven councilmembers to appoint John Russo's replacement for District 2, should not be repeated for future vacancies.

My opponent, at-large councilmember Henry Chang, was a strong advocate of appointing the District 2 councilmember instead of having an election. He stated that since he had originally been appointed to the council (not elected by the voters) that he thought the appointment process worked well, and should be used again. Others on the council similarly argued that the appointment provision is an old, traditional part of Oakland law, and should be respected. However, when it comes to denying people the right to vote, the fact that a law was written long ago should be grounds to make us suspicious -- not a reason to continue a tradition.

If we want to be able to hold our council people responsible to the residents of the district, we need to have elections. Measure I, written by The League of Women Voters, will accomplish this, and, by including provisions for alternative methods of voting, will help increase voter turnout. Please join me in voting Yes on I on November 7th.