The at-large proposal divides us instead of uniting us

Residents in Southeast and West Urbana should not be made to feel that each neighborhood's representation subtracts from the voice of the other. Our neighborhoods benefit from each other's vitality and now is a time for us to join together to improve our city.

At-large will not improve government

Adding at-large seats to the Urbana City Council will not improve government. In Spring 2005 all 7 ward seats along with the Mayor will be up for reelection, and incumbents in Wards 3, 5, and 7 have stated they will not run. One way to improve government is to elect new, hard-working representatives connected to our neighborhoods. District elections, not at-large voting, is the way to accomplish that.

Due to the high costs of running a city-wide campaign, at-large positions make it harder for ordinary citizens to run for office, and replaces the importance of candidate merit with financial contributions. A ward representative must make a connection with the voters in their own neighborhood in order to get elected, while an at-large representative only has to raise enough money to buy commercials. Ward members must be receptive to the concerns of their neighbors.

Finally, just as an at-large candidate doesn't have to talk to you in order to get elected, there's no guarantee they'll live anywhere nearby either. For example, Urbana Mayors are elected citywide and 2 of the last 3 have lived west of Vine Street.

Don't change government on a whim.

The at-large referendum was hastily placed on the ballot for political reasons. There has been no formal study or public hearings on the issue. The proposed change would long outlast any current council member or the Mayor.

If you are unhappy with the direction of Urbana's government, then the task is to elect representatives that address your most salient issues. Changing the form of government on a whim because of dissatisfaction with the current representatives is the wrong course of action.

back to the issues

In recent years, over 250 cities across the U.S. have eliminated at-large seats from their city council. Adding at-large to a ward system is so uncommon that standard sources don't even track it. Municipal Year Book, 2004, ICMA

"At-large voting schemes ... tend to minimize the voting strength of minority groups by permitting the political majority to elect all representatives of the district."

U.S. Supreme Court, in Rogers v. Lodge, 458 U.S. 613 (1982).

"While blacks are equitably represented in the district portions of mixed systems, they are abysmally underrepresented in the at-large portions."

Welch, Susan. The Impact of At-Large Elections on the Representation of Blacks and Hispanics. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 52, No. 4. (Nov. 1990).