| Twenty years ago Ohlone College’s Board of Trustees established a numbered
seat system to elect the trustees. The system was designed to target
one particular trustee. Ohlone is the only California community college
with numbered seats. The system is not based on population or area,
just a number.
Candidates for office must designate the seat number and, therefore, the trustee, he or she is going to challenge. In an election, it is possible that there may be more than one challenger for each numbered seat. Only the top vote getter in each seat will be elected. Therefore it is possible for the winner in a given seat, say Seat #1 to be elected with fewer votes than, say, the second place finisher running for Seat #2. In an “open” election without seat numbers, the persons with the highest number of votes would win. This odd system no longer serves any useful purpose for electing the best candidates for Trustees. The League of Women Voters of Fremont, Newark and Union City asked the Ohlone College Board of Trustees to consider bringing Ohlone College’s election code into conformance with practice of the other California Community Colleges. On a 4-3 vote the Trustees decided to retain the “Numbered Seat System”. The reasons offered by the four person majority included “it fosters cooperation rather than competition between Board Members,” and it “fosters accountability.” These reasons are not valid. All the other Community Colleges foster cooperation without numbered seats. In fact, Fremont’s City Council and school board members manage to cooperate without numbered seats. Since most Ohlone Trustees’ votes are unanimous, meaning most disagreements are resolved before the votes, the issue of “accountability” is not enhanced in any discernible way with election to numbered seats. Currently, two Ohlone Trustees serve without having received a single vote from the electorate. This can happen because if a candidate runs unopposed, his or her name does not even appear on the ballot. The League of Women Voters of Fremont, Newark and Union City believes that the numbered seat system does not serve the community or the college. It is not democratic because the top three vote getters may not be elected if there are three vacancies and two of the seats are without competition. Voters become confused. Eliminating the numbered seat system will encourage competition; enforcement of the Brown Act relating to transparency of elected officials’ actions and will help elect the people who receive the most votes. The League hopes the Trustees will put a discussion of the rationale of the numbered seats idea as an agenda item to help the public understand its justification. Ohlone Trustee meetings are usually televised on Comcast Channel 28 Thursdays 7 pm. and Fridays 10 am. Ken Ballard
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