HomeMy Public PortalAbout15-106RESOLUTION NO. 15-106
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARSON,
CALIFORNIA, RELEASING THE TEMPORARY ELECTIONS OFFICIAL,
LISA BERGLUND AND DESIGNATING PERMANENT ELECTIONS
OFFICIAL, SUE HERBERS, CMC FOR THE PROCESSING OF A RECALL
PETITION AND OVERSEEING THE ELECTION SHOULD A PETITION BE
TURNED IN BY THE DEADLINE AND CERTIFIED BY THE LOS
ANGELES COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS RECALLING THE CITY
CLERK AND APPROVE A CONTRACT SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR
THE SAME
WHEREAS, under Elections Code § 11201, when the City of Carson's elections
official is the subject of a recall election, the City Council must designate a person other than,
and independent from, the elections official to process a recall petition against the City Clerk;
and
WHEREAS, the City Clerk, who is usually the City of Carson's elections official,
is also the subject of a recall petition; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the requirements of Election Code § 11201, on July 1,
2015, the City Council passed Resolution No. 15-084 designating City of Carson staff member
Lisa Berglund as temporary elections official, upon which Lisa Berglund accepted the duties of
elections official on a temporary basis; and
WHEREAS, the City of Carson sought a permanent independent elections official
in connection with all proceedings arising out of or related to the recall petition against the City
Clerk; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to appoint a permanent elections official for
the duration of the above-mentioned recall petition, while simultaneously releasing Lisa
Berglund from all of her duties as a temporary elections official for the same proceedings.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARSON,
CALIFORNIA, DOES RESOLVE, DECLARE, DETERMINE AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. That pursuant to Government Code § 36505 and Elections Code
§§ 320 and 11201, the City Council designates Sue Herbers, CMC as the elections official in and
for the City of Carson, in connection with all proceedings arising out of or related to the recall
petition against the City Clerk; while, simultaneously releasing Lisa Berglund from all of her
duties as a temporary elections official for the same proceedings, upon the acceptance by Sue
Herbers, CMC as the designated elections official in and for the City of Carson, in connection
with all proceedings arising out of or related to the recall petition against the City Clerk, and the
commencement of such duties by Sue Herbers, CMC.
[MORE]
RESOLUTION NO. 15-106
PAGE 2 OF 3
Section 2. That, if the recall petition against the City Clerk is submitted with
sufficient signatures, Elections Official Sue Herbers, CMC is authorized to verify the signatures
collected for the petition.
Section 3. That, if the recall petition against the City Clerk is submitted with
sufficient signatures and is certified to call an election, Elections Official Sue Herbers, CMC is
authorized to handle and process the remaining steps in the election, such as to procure and
furnish any and all official ballots, notices, printed matter and all supplies, equipment and
paraphernalia that may be necessary in order to properly and lawfully conduct the election,
including but not limited to, the use of any existing City personnel and consultants.
Section 4. That pursuant to Section 10263 of the Elections Code of the State of
California, the canvass of the election on the recall of the City Clerk is to be made and conducted
by Elections Official Sue Herbers, CMC if such an election is called and conducted on the recall
petition against the City Clerk.
Section 5. That all prior resolutions of the City Council of the City of Carson
related to designating an elections official, as it applies to the recall petition against the City
Clerk, are hereby repealed and superseded to the extent it/they conflict(s) with the provisions of
this Resolution.
Section 6. The City Council authorizes the City Manager to negotiate the terms
and conditions of, and to execute, all necessary documents and agreements to implement the
services approved by this Resolution, within the General Fund budget, subject to the approval of
the City Attorney as to form.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED jlhi$ 6th cray of %tcoer, 2015.
--lerk
AS TO FORM- t
City Attginey bur ny, 8oltani
ayor Albert Robles
RESOLUTION NO. 15-106
PAGE 3 OF 3
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss.
CITY OF CARSON )
I, Yolanda Chavez, Deputy City Clerk of the City of Carson, California, do hereby certify that
the whole number of members of the City Council is five; that the foregoing resolution, being
Resolution No. 15-106 was duly and regularly adopted by said Council at a regular meeting duly
and regularly held on the 6`h of October, 2015, and that the same was passed and adopted by the
i+- following vote:
AYES: COUNCIL MEMBERS
NOES:
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSTAIN:
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
ABSENT:
COUNCIL MEMBERS:
Mayor Robles, Santarina, Davis -Holmes, Hilton,
and Gause-Aldana
None
None
None
eput jLanda Chavez
File #: 2015-767, Version:
SUBJECT:
CITY OF CARSON 701 East Carson Street
Report to Mayor and City Council
Tuesday, October 06, 2015
Discussion
CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTION NO. 15-106 RELEASING THE TEMPORARY
ELECTIONS OFFICIAL, LISA BERGLUND AND DESIGNATING PERMANENT
ELECTIONS OFFICIAL, SUE HERBERS, CMC FOR THE PROCESSING OF A RECALL
PETITION AND OVERSEEING THE ELECTION SHOULD A PETITION BE TURNED IN
BY THE DEADLINE AND CERTIFIED BY THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY REGISTRAR
OF VOTERS RECALLING THE CITY CLERK AND APPROVE A CONTRACT SERVICES
AGREEMENT FOR THE SAME (CITY COUNCIL)
I. SUMMARY
The City Clerk, Jim Dear, has been served a Notice of Intent to Recall by citizens in the
community.
The City Clerk usually is the City elections official. However, Elections Code § 11201
requires that "[w]hen the city or county elections official is the officer sought to be recalled,
the duties imposed upon him or her shall be performed by some other person designated
by the governing board."
The City Council was concerned that processing this recall petition created a conflict of
interest for Mr. Dear and the City, because ordinarily, the City Clerk would handle all
aspects of processing such a petition. Furthermore, maintaining Mr. Dear as elections
official was contrary to Election Code § 11201. In order to avoid such conflicts and in
compliance with the Election Code, on July 1, 2015, staff member Lisa Berglund accepted
the duties of the Elections Official on a temporary basis (Exhibit No. 1). Accordingly, the
City Council must designate, by resolution, a permanent person to replace Ms. Berglund to
continue the processing of the recall petition and approve a contract services agreement
for the same (Exhibit No. 2).
Carson Municipal Code Chapter 6 Section 2610 requires that procurement of services of
an estimated value of $25,000 or more shall require at least three written proposals. The
City received 3 proposals (1) Larry Herrera Cabrera, retired City Clerk, (2) Carmen Avalos,
CMC, South Gate and (3) Sue Herbers, CMC retired City Clerk (Exhibit Nos. 4-6).
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Elections Code § 320 provides that an "Elections Official" is the "clerk or any person who is
charged with the duty of conducting an election." Government Code § 36505 provides that
the City Council "shall appoint . . . such other subordinate officers . . . as it deems
necessary." (See, also, League of California Cities, Municipal Law Handbook, § 3.2, at pp.
229-30 (2014) ["The city clerk is the elections official unless the city council designates
another person."].)
11. RECOMMENDATION
WAIVE further reading and ADOPT Resolution No. 15-106, "A RESOLUTION OF THE
CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA, RELEASING THE TEMPORARY ELECTIONS
OFFICIAL, LISA BERGLUND AND DESIGNATING PERMANENT ELECTIONS
OFFICIAL, SUE HERBERS, CMC FOR THE PROCESSING OF A RECALL PETITION
AND OVERSEEING THE ELECTION SHOULD A PETITION BE TURNED IN BY THE
DEADLINE AND CERTIFIED BY THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY REGISTRAR OF
VOTERS RECALLING THE CITY CLERK AND APPROVE A CONTRACT SERVICES
AGREEMENT FOR THE SAME"
2. APPROVE a consultant services agreement between the City of Carson and Sue
Herbers, CMC to serve as the permanent Elections Official for the Recall of City Clerk
Jim Dear to be approved as to form by the City Attorney.
3. APPROPRIATE $25,000.00 from the unassigned fund balance and transfer those funds
to 01-50-010-001-6005.
1.
III. ALTERNATIVES
None.
IV. BACKGROUND
Under the California Elections Code, the elections official for municipal elections performs
a variety of functions and tasks during an election process. So far as our research has
disclosed, the City Clerk has acted as the elections official for Carson Municipal Elections.
Additionally, the prior City Clerk acted as elections official during election cycles in which
she was a candidate for the office of City Clerk, but she was replaced with an outside
consultant in the election cycle in which she ran for the office of Mayor. Accordingly,
notwithstanding past practice, the City Council is free to designate any person or entity it
desires to function as the elections official.
The Elections Code mandates that, when the City's elections official is the officer who is
the subject of a recall petition, he/she cannot serve as the City's elections official and the
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City Council should designate some other person or entity as the elections official.
Moreover, numerous state laws preclude an elections official involved in the election
process from doing anything that would inappropriately alter the election outcome. Some of
those laws, as codified in the Elections Code, are as follows: § 18500 (prohibitions on
committing, or aiding and abetting fraud in an election); § 18501 (prohibition on public
officials casting illegal votes and barring such officials from forever holding office in the
state); § 18502 (prohibition on interference with election officers or voters); § 18520
(prohibition on offers or promises of office, place or employment to induce other to vote or
refrain from voting); § 18521 (prohibitions on gifts or other considerations to induce person
to vote or refrain from voting); § 18543 (prohibition on conspiracy to challenge a person's
right to vote without probable cause or on fraudulent grounds); § 18564 (prohibition on
tampering with or damaging voting machines; interference with secrecy of voting; willful
substitution of forged source codes); § 18566 (prohibition on forging or counterfeiting
election returns); § 18567 (prohibition on willfully adding or subtracting from votes actually
cast in an election); § 18568 (prohibition on tampering with any poll list, official ballot, or
ballot container).
The Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters (ROV) currently serves as the county
elections official and is able to process the recall petition against the City Clerk as
concerns verification of signatures should the recall petition be turned in by the deadline.
However, the ROV will not perform all of the necessary duties of the City elections official
in regards to the present recall petition.
The City needs a permanent elections official, other than the current City Clerk or the"
temporary elections official, to perform the duties of a City elections official for the duration
of the present recall petition. Staff is recommending Sue Herbers, CMC, retired City Clerk
from Torrance. A contract between the City and Ms. Herebers will be brought forward by
the City Attorney's office at tonight's meeting (Exhibit No. 3).
These duties include (if the recall petition against the City Clerk is submitted with sufficient
signatures and is certified to call an election) to handle and process the remaining steps in
the election, such as to procure and furnish any and all official ballots, notices, printed
matter and all supplies, equipment and paraphernalia that may be necessary in order to
properly and lawfully conduct the election, including but not limited to, the use of any
existing City personnel and consultants.
The City Council may choose to appoint a consultant to serve as the City's elections
official.
V. FISCAL IMPACT
In the event the City Council determines to designate an independent individual as its
elections official for the processing of the recall petition against the City Clerk, it is
estimated that it will be necessary to approve the expenditure of no less than $100.00 per
hour for a minimum of 250 hours for these services ($25,000.00). Funds should be
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appropriated from the unassigned fund balance to account no. 01-50-010-001-6005.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. Staff Report, July 1, 2015, Item No. 3 (without exhibits). (pgs. 5-7)
2. [Proposed] RESOLUTION NO. 15-106 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF CARSON,
CALIFORNIA, RELEASING THE TEMPORARY ELECTIONS OFFICIAL, LISA
BERGLUND AND DESIGNATING PERMANENT ELECTIONS OFFICIAL, SUE
HERBERS, CMC FOR THE PROCESSING OF A RECALL PETITION AND
OVERSEEING THE ELECTION SHOULD A PETITION BE TURNED IN BY THE
DEADLINE AND CERTIFIED BY THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY REGISTRAR OF
VOTERS RECALLING THE CITY CLERK AND APPROVE A CONTRACT SERVICES
AGREEMENT FOR THE SAME. (pgs. 8-9)
3. [Proposed] Contract between the City of Carson and Sue Herbers, CMC.
(to be provided under separate cover). (pg. 10)
4. Proposal from Larry Herrera Cabrera retired City Clerk . (pgs. 11-13)
5. Proposal from Carmen Avalos, CMC, South Gate. (pg. 14)
6. Proposal from Sue Herbers, CMC retired City Clerk. (pgs. 15-17)
a
Prepared by: Lisa Berglund, Principal Administrative Analyst and the
City Attorney's Office
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File #: 2015-543, Version: 1
SUBJECT:
CITY OF CARSON
701 East Carson Street
Report to Mayor and City Council
Wednesday, July 01, 2015
Discussion
CONSIDER ADOPTING RESOLUTION NO. 15-083 DESIGNATING THE LOS ANGELES
COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS OFFICE AS THE ELECTIONS OFFICIAL FOR
PROCESSING OF A RECALL PETITION AGAINST THE CITY CLERK AND APPROVE
A CONTRACT SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR THE SAME; CONSIDER ADOPTING
RESOLUTION NO. 15-084 DESIGNATING AN ELECTIONS OFFICIAL FOR
PROCESSING OF A RECALL PETITION AGAINST THE CITY CLERK AND APPROVE
A CONTRACT SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR THE SAME (CITY COUNCIL)
I. SUMMARY
The City Clerk, Jim Dear, has been served a Notice of Intent to Recall by citizens in the community.
The City Council is concerned that processing this recall petition creates a conflict of interest for Mr.
Dear and the City because ordinarily, the City Clerk would handle all aspects of processing such a
petition.
In order to avoid such conflicts, Mayor Robles proposes that the City engage the services of the
Office of the County of Los Angeles Registrar of Voters (ROV) to process the recall petition that
has been prepared with regard to the office of the City Clerk now held by Jim Dear, or in the
alternative if the ROV cannot provide such services to appoint a qualified individual to provide such
services.
Elections Code § 320 provides that an "Elections Official" is the "clerk or any person who is
charged with the duty of conducting an election." Government Code § 36505 provides that the City
Council "shall appoint ... such other subordinate officers ... as it deems necessary." (See, also,
League of California Cities, Municipal Law Handbook, § 3.2, at pp. 229-30 (2014) ["The city clerk is
the elections official unless the city council designates another person."].)
Moreover, Elections Code § 11201 requires that "[w]hen the city or county elections official is the
officer sought to be recalled, the duties imposed upon him or her shall be performed by some other
person designated by the governing board." -
Accordingly, the City Council must designate, by resolution, some person or entity independent of
the Office of the City Clerk, and his staff, to process the recall petition.
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EXHIBIT NO - t j
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II. RECOMMENDATION
CONSIDER and PROVIDE direction.
Ill. ALTERNATIVES
1. INTERVIEW potential candidates for elections official; and/or
2. WAIVE further reading and ADOPT Resolution No. 15-083 DESIGNATING THE LOS
ANGELES COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS OFFICE AS THE ELECTIONS OFFICIAL FOR
PROCESSING OF A RECALL PETITION AGAINST THE CITY CLERK AND APPROVE A
CONTRACT SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR THE SAME; and/or
3. WAIVE further reading and ADOPT Resolution No. 15-084 DESIGNATING AN ELECTIONS
OFFICIAL FOR PROCESSING OF A RECALL PETITION AGAINST THE CITY CLERK AND
APPROVE A CONTRACT SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR THE SAME; and/or .
4. CONSIDER options and PROVIDE further direction to staff
IV. BACKGROUND
Under the California Elections Code, the elections official for municipal elections performs a variety
of functions and tasks during an election process. So far as our research has disclosed, the City
Clerk has acted as the elections official for Carson Municipal Elections. Additionally., the prior City
Clerk acted as elections official during election cycles in which she was a candidate for the office of
City Clerk, but she was replaced with an outside consultant in the election cycle in which she ran
for the office of Mayor.
As noted, Elections Code § 320 provides that an "Elections Official" is "clerk or any person who is
charged with the duty of conducting an election." Government Code § 36505 provides that the City
Council "shall appoint ... such other subordinate officers ... as it deems necessary."
Accordingly, notwithstanding past practice, the City Council is free to designate any person or entity
it desires to function as the elections official.
Most importantly, Elections Code § 11201 requires that "[w]hen the city or county elections official
is the officer sought to be recalled, the duties imposed upon him or her shall be performed by some
other person designated by the governing board."
Thus, the Elections Code mandates that, when the City's elections official is the officer who is the
subject of a recall petition, he/she cannot serve as the City's elections official and the City Council
should designate some other person or entity as the elections official.
Moreover, numerous state laws preclude an elections official involved in the election process from
doing anything that would inappropriately alter the election outcome. Some of those laws, as
codified in the Elections Code, are as follows: § 18500 (prohibitions on committing, or aiding and
abetting fraud in an election); § 18501 (prohibition on public officials casting illegal votes and
barring such officials from forever holding office in the state); § 18502 (prohibition on interference
r;.
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with election officers or voters); § 18520 (prohibition on offers or promises of office, place or
employment to induce other to vote or refrain from voting); § 18521 (prohibitions on gifts or other
considerations to induce person to vote or refrain from voting); § 18543 (prohibition on conspiracy
to challenge a person's right to vote without probable cause or on fraudulent grounds); § 18564
(prohibition on tampering with or damaging voting machines; interference with secrecy of voting;
willful substitution of forged source codes); § 18566 (prohibition on forging or counterfeiting election
returns); § 18567 (prohibition on willfully adding or subtracting from votes actually cast in an
election); § 18568 (prohibition on tampering with any poll list, official ballot, or ballot container).
The ROV currently serves as the county elections official and is potentially able to serve as the
City's elections official for the recall petition against the City Clerk.
Altematively, as it has done in the past, the City Council may choose to appoint a consultant to
serve as the City's elections official
V. FISCAL IMPACT
In the event the City Council determines to designate the Los Angeles County Registrar of Voters
to serve as its elections official for the processing of the recall petition against the City Clerk, it is
estimated that it will be necessary to approve the expenditure of no less than $35,000 for these
services.
In the event the City Council determines to designate an independent individual as its elections
official for the processing of the recall petition against the City Clerk, it is estimated that it will be
necessary to approve the expenditure of no less than $35,000 for these services.
VI. EXHIBITS
1. [Proposed] RESOLUTION NO. 15-083 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA, DESIGNATING THE LOS ANGELES COUNTY
REGISTRAR OF VOTERS OFFICE AS THE ELECTIONS OFFICIAL FOR PROCESSING OF
A RECALL PETITION AGAINST THE CITY CLERK AND APPROVE A CONTRACT
SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR THE SAME
2. [Proposed] RESOLUTION NO. 15-084 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA, DESIGNATING AN ELECTIONS OFFICIAL FOR
PROCESSING OF A RECALL PETITION AGAINST THE CITY CLERK AND APPROVE A
CONTRACT SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR THE SAME
Prepared by: City Attorney's Office
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RESOLUTION NO. 15-106
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE
CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA, RELEASING
THE TEMPORARY ELECTIONS OFFICIAL, LISA
BERGLUND AND DESIGNATING PERMANENT
ELECTIONS OFFICIAL, SUE HERBERS, CMC FOR
THE PROCESSING OF A RECALL PETITION AND
OVERSEEING THE ELECTION SHOULD A
PETITION BE TURNED IN BY THE DEADLINE
AND CERTIFIED BY THE LOS ANGELES
COUNTY REGISTRAR OF VOTERS RECALLING
THE CITY CLERK AND APPROVE A CONTRACT
SERVICES AGREEMENT FOR THE SAME
WHEREAS, under Elections Code § 11201, when the City of Carson's elections
official is the subject of a recall election, the City Council must designate a person other than,
and independent from, the elections official to process a recall petition against the City Clerk;
and
WHEREAS, the City Clerk, who is usually the City of Carson's elections official,
is also the subject of a recall petition; and
WHEREAS, pursuant to the requirements of Election Code § 11201, on July 1,
2015, the City Council passed Resolution No. 15-084 designating City of Carson staff member
Lisa Berglund as temporary elections official, upon which Lisa Berglund accepted the duties of
elections official on a temporary basis; and
WHEREAS, the City of Carson sought a permanent independent elections official
in connection with all proceedings arising out of or related to the recall petition against the City
Clerk; and
WHEREAS, the City Council desires to appoint a permanent elections official for
the duration of the above-mentioned recall petition, while simultaneously releasing Lisa
Berglund from all of her duties as a temporary elections official for the same proceedings.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CARSON,
CALIFORNIA, DOES RESOLVE, DECLARE, DETERMINE AND ORDER AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1. That pursuant to Government Code § 36505 and Elections Code
§§ 320 and 11201, the City Council designates Sue Herbers, CMC as the elections official in and
for the City of Carson, in connection with all proceedings arising out of or related to the recall
petition against the City Clerk; while, simultaneously releasing Lisa Berglund from all of her
duties as a temporary elections official for the same proceedings, upon the acceptance by Sue
EXHIBIT NO - 2 j
01007.0001/270153.101007/0001/226739,1
Herbers, CMC as the designated elections official in and for the City of Carson, in connection
with all proceedings arising out of or related to the recall petition against the City Clerk, and the
commencement of such duties by Sue Herbers, CMC.
Section 2. That, if the recall petition against the City Clerk is submitted with
sufficient signatures, Elections Oficial Sue, Herbers, CMC is authorized to verify the signatures
collected for the petition.
Section 3. That, if the recall petition against the City Clerk is submitted with
sufficient signatures and is certified to call an election, Elections Official Sue Herbers, CMC is
authorized to handle and process the remaining steps in the election, such as to procure and
furnish any and all official ballots, notices, printed matter and all supplies, equipment and
paraphernalia that may be necessary in order to properly and lawfully conduct the election,
including but not limited to, the use of any existing City personnel and consultants.
Section 4. That pursuant to Section 10263 of the Elections Code of the State of
California, the canvass of the election on the recall of the City Clerk is to be made and conducted
by Elections Official Sue Herbers, CMC if such an election is called and conducted on the recall
petition against the City Clerk.
Section 5. That all prior resolutions of the City Council of the City of Carson
related to designating an elections official, as it applies to the recall petition against the City
Clerk, are hereby repealed and superseded to the extent it/they conflict(s) with the provisions of
this Resolution.
Section 6. The City Council authorizes the City Manager to negotiate the terms
and conditions of, and to execute, all necessary documents and agreements to implement the
services approved by this Resolution, within the General Fund budget, subject to the approval of
the City Attorney as to form.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED this day of October, 2015.
MAYOR
City Clerk
City Attorney
-2-
0100T0001/270153.1
Contract Services Agreement between the City of Carson and
Sue Herbers, CMC to be provided at the Council meeting,
October 6, 2015
Exhibit No. 3
10
Professional
# • Proposal
Carson : Special i , Election
Draft
September 9, 2015
By
Larry Herrera -Cabrera
EXHIBIT NO - 4
Professional Services Proposal for
City of Carson 2016 Special Municipal Election — Draft
September 9, 2015 (Draft)
Paqe 2
Background
The City of Carson has invited submittal of this proposal for professional services necessary for
a possible recall election involving the Office of City Clerk.
The City's population is 91,700 residents and with approximately 55,000 registered voters.
Elections minority language requirements include: Spanish and Tagalog.
In past years the City employed a private contractor for odd -year standalone election system
support. Due to the significance of this election, I do not anticipate working with this vendor.
With submittal of this Proposal, my aim will be to provide high quality elections official services
in the cost range of $630 to $6.58 per registered voter.
This proposal also contemplates the utilization of a modern voting system technologies for the
printing and mailing vote by mail ballots and voter pamphlets. The same modern technology will
be used for the tabulation of voted ballots. Only election systems vendors certified by the
California Secretary of State will be considered as participants in this project.
The Challenge Presented
The City of Carson operates in a dynamic and fast changing political environment. For this
reason, the conduct of Carson's municipal elections requires adherence to the following
principles:
• Accessibility — that voters are well informed of where, when and how to vote;
• Accuracy — that all aspects of the election are compliant with federal and state
law;
• Timeliness — that voting results are accurately reported and certified on a timely
basis;
• Equity — that laws and practices are applied equally and consistently to all
candidates, opponents, committees and interested persons;
• Transparency — that all practices and results are public record according to law;
• Accountability — that all staff are held accountable for maintaining the public
trust, and
• Cost-effectiveness — that the cost of the election are competitive and comparable
to the cost of elections as conducted by California's 58 counties.
Description of Services Provided
This project proposes to improve, on a comprehensive and systematic basis, the conduct of a
Carson special municipal election consistent with federal and State laws and regulations.
Key requirements to be met include processes and controls related to. over -voting, under -voting,
vote by mail voting, provisional voting, utilization of the Los Angeles County voter registration
data base, voter education, and training for election officials and poll workers.
Professional Services Proposal for
City of Carson 2016 Special Municipal Election — Draft
September 9, 2015 (Draft)
Paqe 3
In parallel with this project, the City of Carson must work with Dean Logan, Registrar/Recorder,
County of Los Angeles, to determine the ability of the City to utilize the DIMS election
management system and other County services critical to the successful conduct of the Special
Election. Such a working relationship could assist Los Angeles County in development of its
anticipated voting system that will become operative and available to cities in the year 2022.
The attached Calendar provides a high Ievel detail of services and milestones to be met under
this Proposal: and the attached budget (estimated at this time and subject to further refinement)
shows the total cost for the election and my hourly rate of $82 per hour (for a maximum of 702
hours totaling $57,564).
As your elections official, I will be responsible for administration, execution and coordination of
all tasks and sub -tasks associated with the attached Calendar.
16
Lisa Berglund
From:
Ken Farfsing
Sent:
Monday, September 21, 2015 4:55 PM
To:
Albert Robles
Cc:
Lisa Berglund
Subject:
RE: Fwd: Election Administration Services
---- Forwarded Message -----
From: Carmen Avalos <voteavalosammail.com>
To: aaroblesCaD-yahoo.com
Sent: Monday, September 21, 2015 2:58 PM
Subject: Fwd: Election Administration Services
Greetings Mayor Robles,
Per your request, find the information as an attachment below. Additionally, I'm providing simple
bullet points below for Election Administration information.
Election Administration
• Administration of General, Consolidated, Recall Election
• Election's Officials Duties
• Special District Assessment Election
• Sales Tax, Utility Tax Measure Elections
* Ethics Citywide Campaign
• Candidate Workshops
Rates: $150 hour
(Averaging 10-20 hours per week)
Should you have any questions, feel free to contact me via email or phone. Please advise if there is
anything further you may require. Have a great day !!!
Cairn.en Avalos
Many Blessings Always
EXHIBIT, NO -5 /1
September 30, 2015
Sue merbers
City Clerk Emeritus, Ken C. Farfsing
Torrance, CA
Interim City Manager
City of Carson
701 E. Carson St
Carson, CA 90745
Dear Mr. Farfsing:
RE: Appointment as Carson Elections Official
Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you.
I am presenting the following proposal to the City of Carson to
consider my appointment as the Elections Official for performing all
duties as imposed on the city clerk as the elections official related to
the processing of the current recall of the Carson City Clerk
PROPOSAL AND QUALIFICATIONS
I am the retired city clerk of the City of Torrance, California having the
honor of being duly elected by the citizens to serve them for 20 years.
I have been duly accredited by the International Institute of Municipal
Clerks as a Certified Municipal Clerk (CMC) and have been active in
City Clerks Association of California during my tenure by attending
trainings and conferences available to me.
I have conducted eleven elections both stand alone and consolidated.
The elections have included five ballot measures and three attempted
recalls. I have also administered six city council appointments. I have
an excellent relationship with the Los Angeles County Registrar's
2264 W 230 Street office and am familiar with the laws and work required in petition
Torrance CA 90501 processes.
310.938.7690
Today I remain an active member of the municipal clerk organizations
SueHerbers2014@gmail.com and continue to attend trainings and meetings to be able to offer
EXHIBIT NO -fi
services to fellow city clerks. I have agreed to mentor city clerks as
they pursue their careers in the field.
This is as I was taught and mentored by other city clerks as 1 grew in
my field. I was honored to have received mentoring from Carson's
own Helen Kawagoe. I still treasure a commendation from the city of
Carson for assisting her at the March 1999 election night.
I understand the difficulty that has been placed on the office of the
city clerk and will offer services in a fair, impartial and unbiased
manner to affect a transparent outcome of the will of the people of
Carson. The decisions made will be made with the interest of the
people and will be made following the laws of the State of California
in all matters. Decisions may be made after consultations with
appropriate legal counsel of the City of Carson or recognized election
officials.
I do not anticipate this to be a full time position at this time and I am
cognizant of the need for fiscal responsibility and transparency. I will
offer service on an as need basis working closely with the Carson city
attorney and the city manager to give notice of scheduled hours as
required. My consulting fees are $100 per hour with hours to be billed
to the City of Carson. The length of the appointment is to be
concurrent with the amount of time running with the petition in
circulation. I would reserve the right to withdraw if undue influences
are made on me.
A current biography is enclosed. If I can offer any further
information please contact me.
Sincerely,
Sue Herbers
Enclosure
Page 2
BIOGRAPHY Sue Herbers
Sue Herbers recently retired from her post as the elected City Clerk in the city of Torrance after 20 years
of service (1994-2014.) She served five consecutive terms administering democratic process including
oversight of elections and providing access to public records and all legislative actions ensuring
transparency to the public. She also acted as the compliance officer for federal, state and local statutes
including the Political Reform Act, the Brown Act, and the Public Records Act and worked collaboratively
with the councils and management team to meet the expectations of the public in all areas. She was
honored with the Voter Outreach Award in 2014 by the City Clerks Association of California for her work
on the TorronceVotes election website.
Throughout 40+ years of volunteering, Ms. Herbers has also been privileged to serve as President of the
Southern California City Clerks Association, and PTA President for two schools and her area council. She
has served on various City of Torrance committees and commissions including the Environmental
Quality and Energy Conservation Commission, the Cable Television Advisory Board, as well as City
Council Blue Ribbon Committee on Charter Change.
Locally she remains committed to active involvement with community groups such as the Torrance
Historical Society (currently serving on the Board), Torrance Area League of Women Voters (past holder
of multiple Board positions), Arts Council of Torrance (charter member) and the Friends of Torrance
Theater Company (charter member), among others.
Ms. Herbers maintains membership in the City Clerks Association of California and the International
Institute of Municipal Clerks and shares her experiences with peers as a municipal clerk mentor and
consultant. After joining the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation and attending its 2014
conference in Reston, VA she is exploring all avenues of civic engagement while following her lifelong
passion for civic service and community involvement. She currently sits on the Institute for Local
Government Public Engagement Panel of Advisors.
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