monday, October 30, 1978
election issue
page 9
City
issues
Proposed council district elections
raise residency provision questions
By Val Swinton
A charter amendment to have four of the seven
Lincoln City Council members elected by district, rather
than by the current at-large method, is causing bitter
feelings between opponents and proponents of the mea
sure. The amendment, which will appear on the Nov. 7 gen
eral election ballot, proposes that the city be divided into
four districts, and one council member would represent
each district. The three remaining members still would
be elected at large.
Frank Kalin, co-chairman of the Citizens for Fair
Representation, which proposed the amendment, says
equal representation throughout the city is the basic
question involved.
"I think you get a better balance," Kahn said. "I
think the east is over-representated."
Currently, five of the seven councilmen live between
70th and 84th streets, the other two live between 27th
and 33 rd.
Tendency to 'favoritism'
Kuhn says he doesn't think the council is passing legis
lation more favorable to east Lincoln than other parts of
the city, but added that he thinks a majority of the
council members tend to favor persons in real estate,
as well as developers and the chamber of commerce.
He suggests that by breaking up the block of council
men from the eastern part of the city, other interests in
the city would get equal representation.
"I think Mr. Kuhn is a yo-yo," replied councilman
Leo Scherer, when told of Kuhn 's comments. "He doesn't
know what he's talking about."
Scherer, one of five city council members opposed
to the amendment, says district elections aren't necessary.
If the voters don't like the stands a councilman takes on
various issues, they can vote that member out of office,
no matter where he lives, he said.
Scherer, along with councilman Bob Sikyta, does not
like the language of the amendment, and Scherer said he
thinks there would be a lot of vote-trading done between
councilmen from various neighborhoods to try to pass
legislation favorable to their own neighborhoods.
"I don't think there's any question about that,"
Scherer said. " I think there would be favoritism."
He added that under the current system, "I'm elected
by the total community."
No problem
But jne of the councilmen who favors the amend
ment. John Robinson, disagrees with Scherer.
"That hasn't been a problem in other parts of the
country, and I don't expect it to be a problem here," he
said.
Sikyta insists that he's never taken a stand for or
against the concept of district elections, but says he is
opposed to this particular amendment because of the
wording.
"It's not the proposal that went before the charter
revision committee." Sikyta said.
He added that any candidate could be elected from one
district, then move out of the district the next day, and
not have to resign his or her council seat. Even worse,
Sikyta said, a candidate could run in a district in which he
doesn't even live.
Robinson, an attorney, says he hasn't looked at the
wording of the amendment closely enough to judge
whether or not Sikyta's concerns are valid. But, he said,
even if the amendment is worded that way, the chances of
a candidate getting elected to a district he doesn't live in
are slim.
Kuhn calls concerns about the wording "a bunch of
garbage," and says he has two opinions from the UNL
Law College that the wording does state that each candi
date would have to be elected from the district in which
he or she lives.
uvs
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11
Sikyta says another problem with the amendment is
timing. It would go into effect next year, leaving little
time for the election commission to make the necessary
changes, and would also make it difficult for candidates to
campaign for election.
Disagreements
"I think Sikyta is raising a lot of hell because his
seat is up for re-election and he's probably worried about
getting re-elected," Kuhn said.
But Scherer, who's seat is not up for re-election, calls
the move less than above-board.
"I think the amendment is an underhanded attempt
to get rid of councilmen they don't like. Why don't they
just vote them out of office?"
But Robinson says voters of the district should use
whatever means legally available to get rid of unwanted
councilmen.
"That's the price you pay for being an elected
official," he said.
Although the proposed district amendment is stealing
most of the publicity in this election, there are five other
municipal amendments on the ballot. They include:
-increasing from $5,000 to $10,000 the minir.um
amount for taking bids on goods and services;
a proposal giving the City Council permission to
pave streets less than 1,350 feet long, without approval of
a majority of the property owners;
-allowing the city to assess property owners the cost
of snow removal after publication of a legal notice;
-removing outdated language in the city charter about
horses, mules, and cattle;
-Bringing the city charter into conformity with state
law concerning the publication of claims against the city.
DAVID JOHN THOMAS
FOR PUBLIC DEFENDER
Your Independent Petition Candidate
An attorney with administrative
experience.
An Advocate of fiscal restraint.
World War II Veteran, Pacific Theatre
University of Nebraska Graduate
Consultant, Nebraska County Attor
neys Association, 1976-77
Paid for by David John Thomas
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Re Elect Kandra
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Ml
LTULN
Clerk of the District Court
raid for by the Committee for Kandra Hahn for Clerk
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HVOTE
KEELAN ,
FOR LOWER PLATTE SOUTH .
NATURAL RESOURCE DISTRICT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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b.j. hanna, chairperson 5620 Baldwin
And the difference i
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BOB
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But Hess Dyas, when he votes on an appropriation bill, will
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FOR CONGRESS
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