IONIA, Mich. — The city of Ionia will vote on two amendments to its city charter next Tuesday as part of the November election.
"The time has absolutely come," said City Manager Precia Garland.
In an October press release, Garland said the amendments were drafted to "modernize" the city’s structure.
"We're not telling people how to vote, but we are telling them why we're requesting the change," Garland said.
The First Charter Amendment: City Clerk
The first charter amendment recommends an alteration to the city clerk's office, refitting the elected, part-time position to become a full-time position. In addition, the clerk would be appointed by the City Council upon the city manager's recommendation.
"We all know how much scrutiny is being paid to elections," Garland said. "It's very, very important that we get it right."
Currently, the Ionia city clerk is a retired woman who wanted to "give back to her community," according to Garland, but the responsibilities of the office — maintaining voter registration, mailing absentee ballots, running elections and training election workers — are increasingly difficult for the part-time position.
"We've outgrown this model," Garland said.
The Second Charter Amendment: City Elections
If the city of Ionia is too big for its clerk to be part time, it's still too small for partisan elections, says Garland.
"I would argue that most of the issues that we deal with at the political level, it doesn't matter whether there's an 'R' or a 'D' behind your name," Garland said.
The second charter amendment would remove party affiliation from elected city offices — mayor, clerk and eight council members. For the past thirty years, the 1993 Ionia City Charter required a city convention where local political parties nominated candidates for office.
If passed, Garland says the amendment could "open up" local political involvement to "Joe Citizen."
"You could be a Republican or a Democrat; you still want water to go down the drain," Garland said.
For city residents who want to vote in person on Tuesday, polls will be open at the the Ionia Armory Community Center on Nov. 7 from 7 a.m.–8 p.m.
