REPORT OF THE ELECTION TASK FORCE
October 1, 2008

Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council:

I have the honor to present to you for your consideration the final report of the Council appointed Elections Task Force. The report was unanimously approved by members of the Task Force without any dissenting reports.

I would like to congratulate the Council for the thought given in the appointment of the members. I have been in public life for more than 40 years and I cannot recall any body I served on where the public interest was better served. Whether by accident or design, the body was composed of a diverse group of people who brought experience in government and experience in other walks of life to the table.

I would like to commend City Clerk Pamela Fleming for her efforts in so many areas in helping to achieve the goals of the Task Force. She was literally the sine qua non of the Task Force. Also, ETF Secretary, Victoria Herman, labored long and hard to bring the reports of the subcommittees and the Task Force itself to fruition. Our debt to both of these women is great.

First, let me tell Council what we did not do. We have no recommendation as to what if any changes should be made in regard to the City's hybrid district method of electing Council members. It was the thought of the Task Force that this subject should be considered only after the 2010 Federal Census. There are some constitutional questions which may arise under the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 which may or may not be apparent at this time, but may be very pertinent after the decennial census is made public in 2011.

The question of changing the present two year term of office was considered and a vote to make the term four years was offered and rejected. The idea of a three year term was discussed, but rejected because once every six years Councilmanic elections would be on the same day as the Federal Presidential Election. By way of history, the present date, the first Tuesday after the first Monday was put into effect because it was felt that the City's non-partisan tradition made a special date desirable.

The question of requiring a special election if the mayor becomes incapacitated or otherwise not able to serve and the Mayor Pro Tempore takes office, did not make sense if the two year term is maintained.

The report is attached. By way of explanation, the recommendations for deleting Section 6-72C of the City Code is because this section, which limits the amount of money a candidate can donate in his/her campaign is patently unconstitutional. It is a violation of the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution as an unlawful infringement of free speech. See Buckley v. Valeo 424 U.S. 1 (1970) and a more recent case Randall v. Sorrell, 548 U.S. 230 (2006).

Respectfully submitted,

Gerard F. Devlin, Chair

Election Task Force Recommendations
September 26, 2008

1. Recommend deleting section 6-72C of the current City Code

2. Revise section 6-73 Limits of Contributions to read as follows:

Except as provided in Section 6-72 of this chapter with respect to contributions by a candidate to the candidate’s own campaign, it shall be unlawful for any individual, either directly or indirectly, to contribute any money or thing of value greater than $1,000. This provision shall be reviewed and/or adjusted after every election by the Bowie City Council or their Designees. It shall be unlawful for any partisan political organizations, or profit or non-profit corporations to contribute any money or other thing of value to any candidate in any city election.”

3. The following actions shall be prohibited practices and shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of this section:

(1) Offering bribes
(2) Accepting or soliciting bribes
(3) Acting on bribe(s)
(4) Political contribution(s) in false name(s)
(5) Coercing employees
(6) Payment for walk-around services on election day. No candidate, or campaign committee, or any person acting on behalf of any of the foregoing may at any time, directly or indirectly, pay or incur any obligation to pay, nor may any person receive, directly or indirectly, any sum of money or thing of value in return for a political endorsement or for walk-around services or any other services as a poll worker, phone bank calling, or distributor of sample ballots, performed on the day of election.

4. Item to be added to Bowie City Code under Fair Election Practices - Article IV - a new section listed as Enforcement and Penalties. Any person who willfully violates any of the provisions of the chapter, unless otherwise specified in the City Charter or elections ordinance, shall be guilty of a municipal infraction and upon conviction may be fined not to exceed $1,000.00. Any elected official or candidate of the city government who is found guilty of a misdemeanor under the provisions of this chapter shall immediately cease to hold such office or be disqualified as a candidate. In addition thereto, the city may institute injunctive, mandamus or any other appropriate action or proceedings at law or equity for enforcement of this chapter or to correct violations of this chapter, any court of competent jurisdiction shall have the right to issue restraining order, temporary or permanent injunctions or mandamus or other appropriate form of remedy or relief.

5. Revise Fair Election Practices - Article IV - Section 6-71 (d) to read as follows: Disposition of surplus funds. Any surplus funds remaining after payment of all campaign expenditures shall be returned to contributors by the treasurer prior to the time of filing the final report required by section 6-76; as there must be a ’0’ balance at the time of the final report.

6. Item to be added to Bowie City Code under Fair Election Practices - Article IV Section 6-75 Election reports to be filed by treasurer (this is to be added to or included with the Campaign Reporting Sub-Committee’s recommendation - Objective #5) - Any candidate for City Office, whether successful or not, must file a final campaign financial accounting report. Successful candidates must file prior to being sworn into office. Unsuccessful candidates must file within 30 days of the election. Candidates failing to do so will be fined $500 and will not be permitted to run for City Office until the fine have been paid and the report submitted. Any unpaid debts reflected in the final report shall be deemed a contribution and therefore subject to the limitations of contributions.

7. Item to be added to Bowie City Code: Within forty-eight hours of submission by the Candidate, not counting Saturdays and Sundays, the Election Board or other designated oversight body will review campaign financial reports and return any such reports which do not meet fundamental legal reporting requirements as required by City Code.

8. Item to be added to Bowie City Code: Candidate financial reports which simply display lump sum funds spent or obligated to campaign consultants, public relations firms or other such entities without reasonable itemization of services provided shall be immediately rejected and returned to the subject Candidate as failing to meet campaign reporting guidelines.

9. Item to be added to Bowie City Code: Candidate financial reports which, with the exception of filing fees, do not clearly reflect that funds and itemized expenditures have properly passed through the hands of the Treasurer will be immediately rejected and returned to the subject Candidate as failing to meet campaign reporting guidelines

10. Item to be added to Bowie City Code: Candidates shall file a monthly financial report reflecting all contributions and expenditures by the 15th of each month following the filing for office. A copy of the subject report will be posted on the City's website by close of business within 3 business days.

11. Item to be added to Bowie City Code: Failure to meet the campaign financial reporting deadlines will be considered a violation of the City Code and, on the first offense punishable by a written warning and requirement of the filing of the required report within forty-eight (48) hours not counting Saturdays or Sundays; on the second offense a $500.00 fine; and on the third offense disqualification as a candidate. Offenses are considered cumulative for the course of the campaign for the purpose of enforcement.

12. Item to be added to Bowie City Code: The newly elected Mayor and City Council members will be sworn in on the second Monday following the election.