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elections. He said waiting until July to consider the matter meant that all five Councilors will have their terms shorted, and it is not something Council will be doing to future Councilors. Ms. Hamilton said saving $30,000 by moving the elections is a valid argument. She said increasing turnout is arguable, and is dependent on having good candidates. She said having separate elections puts a burden on election officials. Mr. Schilling said it is troubling that we have gotten to the point where it is a burden asking people to vote. Regarding the budget argument, he said there is a point to be made about coming in at the beginning, but there is also a point to having time for Councilors to come up to speed before beginning the process. He took issue with the statement that all candidates supported moving the elections and does not necessarily feel that was the case. He said he has worked as an election official and does not think that is a reason to move the elections. Mr. Schilling asked that the following comments be included verbatim in the minutes: "Thank the task force and the registrar for their work in assembfing these report. Moving council elections to November is an idea that may make sense. On face value, the provided voter turnout numbers look promising, and the cost savings are enticing. However, a deeper analysis is warranted and this task force did not consider other options that might assist in improving participation in our local elections. When the concept of moving elections to November was last raised before council for our input, my point was, and remains, that it does not make sense to consider moving the elections outside of the consideration of other issues that may be barriers to voter participation. My comments and my concern eventually led to a separate task force being convened to study a ward system, a directly elected mayor, and an increase in the number of councilors. That task force was convened by a 5-to-O vote of the prior council. It also is interesting to note that odd year elections do not necessarily guarantee a higher turnout. In the November 2003 general election, the turnout was only 14%, half that of the 2004 May council election. Why is that? I'm not sure, but I suspect that if the elections were analyzed one might find a correlation between the general trend of diminishing turnout and a lack of competition. So, will this proposed change to a November election enhance or diminish competition in local races? Due to the competition for ad time from the coinciding House of Delegates races and the competition from increased holiday retail advertising in the fall, it will be harder for any non-incumbent council candidate to get attention. This will almost certainly favor incumbents more than they akeady are favored by the current system. Another important factor to consider is the skyrocketing cost of getting elected to local office in Charlottesville. When I asked for the Ward/Mayor Task Force to be convened I mentioned that it cost me $15,000 to run for and win this council seat. I note that in the last election, the three elected councilors (who ran as a single slate) spent in excess of $30, 000 to win election. Increased competition from holiday retail and other political advertising will certainly increase the cost of conducting council elections in November as opposed to May elections. Does this enhance or diminish competition in local races, and thus will it or will it not promote greater voter participation? Now, to refresh the public's mind on comments that were made in past discussions on this issue, let me read afew brief excerpts from the minutes ofprior council meetings". Mr. Schilling quoted statements made by the following citizens who spoke in opposition to moving the Council elections in 2001: David RePass, Alexandra Searls, Francis Fife and Nancy O'Brien. Mr. Schilling noted that Mr. RePass has changed his mind on this issue since that time. "It may not may not make sense to move the elections to November, but there is no reasons to do so now, and in fact, there are many reasons to postpone this decision: namely, the elections task force will be reporting to council in October and many of their issues of study, coincide with increasing voter turnout. Acting now, will not bring us any benefit, but will instead demonstrate expediency at the expense of most effectively addressing the problem at hand. Upon receipt of the upcoming Task Force report, we can look at all of the issues/information that have been gathered, and review them, in total and in context, in order to make the most informed and beneficial decision for this community."