Voters will get to make the call this November on whether the Astoria City Council expands from five members to seven.
At a meeting this week, a majority of the Astoria City Council approved resolutions for three amendments to the city charter, including an amendment to expand the city council and include at-large positions. The other amendment gives the entire council a say in who is appointed to or removed from city boards and committees — not just the mayor — and updates language in the charter.
The city councilors voted 4 to 1 in favor of the first two amendments regarding the size of the council and the increased input on board and committee appointments. Fitzpatrick was the only vote against those amendments. The council was unanimous in voting for the resolution to modernize language in the charter.
With these approvals, the city attorney will have until August 14 to file a ballot title with the Clatsop County Elections Office.
City Councilor Andy Davis strongly supported expanding the number of positions on the city council and, in particular, having city councilors not tied to a particular ward. He said this could help address some unevenness in representation and also open the field to more candidates in future elections. The “at large” positions could also represent a different sense of obligation to the entirety of the city versus the more narrow concerns of the wards, he said.
“Right now the mayor position is the only voice to, theoretically, speak for the whole town,” Davis said, “and I think that’s an imbalance for us as a council. That there should be more voices here, in my mind…that speak up for all of town and see not just the interest of one district.”
City Councilor Joshua Conklin noted “at large” positions would also mean that people who rent rather own a home in a ward can be more sure of retaining their seat even if they have to move mid-term.
Mayor Sean Fitzpatrick said he had concerns about increasing the size of the council, echoing concerns voiced by others during a public comment period that a larger council could lead to longer meetings and discourage public participation.
He said he didn’t feel that all three amendments were necessary and that he only supported the one to update the charter’s language.
“I don’t know that I would vote in favor of all of these,” City Councilor Andrea Mazzarella responded, “but I would vote in favor of them being on a ballot for voters to vote on … I’m in favor of letting the voters decide.”