Roseville’s district-based election measures pass and other Placer County election results
Placer County featured an abundance of local measures on the ballot this year, addressing a wide array of governmental issues.
Notable among these are a flurry of measures in Roseville which collectively will transition the city toward district-based elections.
Measure F
Measure F passed by a wide margin Tuesday night, meaning a portion of Placer County’s code will be amended. The vote won with about 70% in favor and 30% opposed. The measure will allow the county’s human resources department authority over hiring and reviewing pay increases, a role previously filled by its civil service commission. The commission will remain the arbiter of disciplinary appeals and will continue to hear employee grievances. Supporters argued the move would reduce redundancy in the government.
Measure G
Measure G was in a near deadlock on election night, with 50.93% of voters approving it and 49.07% rejecting it. The measure’s provisions are mostly technical — it would formally allow the county’s executive officer to appoint and remove non-elected department heads, a function which Placer County CEO Todd Leopold already performs. The measure would, however, strip the Board of Supervisors of the ability to confirm or deny those decisions via an amendment to the county charter.
Measure H
This charter amendment also passed Tuesday. Among voters, over 68% were in favor of Measure H and nearly 32% voted against it. The measure will modify language in the charter to remove bidding threshold requirements on county projects in order to conform with California contracting codes. Although both the county charter and the state laws establish bidding thresholds, the state requirement is lower than those in the charter. The measure’s passing will eliminate the contradictory requirement in the charter.
Measure I
Measure I came back with a resounding victory. Nearly 92% of the electorate supported the measure, and just 8.5% opposed it. The measure will amend the county charter, requiring candidates for electoral office to reside in Placer County for at least 30 days before filling out nomination paperwork, and they must remain a resident of the county for their full term. The change affects just those offices that are specific to the county, such as the Sheriff, the District Attorney, the Superintendent of Schools and a handful of others. County supervisors are already required to maintain residency in the county.
Measures J through R
Many of these nine Roseville city charter measures pertain to its transition to district-based, rather than at-large, elections for city council members. All nine measures passed by comfortable margins. The lowest margin was passed on Measure R, which won with nearly 67% in favor and 33% opposed. That measure establishes a redistricting commission, which would be responsible for drawing up district maps. The highest win margin was with Measure N, which saw more than 83% approval and about 16% opposition. That measure, which was not directly related to the switch to district-based elections, allows special City Council meetings to be called by the city manager and the city attorney, and extends notice for those special meetings to 72 hours, if possible. The city decided to switch to district-based elections in September 2019 in order to comply with the California Voting Rights Act — which was enacted to make sure minority voices aren’t drowned out in at-large systems — and avoid a potential lawsuit.
Measure S
Auburn’s Measure S appears to have won by a slim margin. The measure would create a 1% sales tax, proceeds from which would be funneled into the city’s general fund. It appeared to have passed Tuesday night, with 52.7% of voters agreeing to adopt the tax and 47.3% rejecting it. The city’s overall sales tax rate would be increased to 8.25% until 2028, and officials estimate it would bring in $2.56 million annually.
This story was originally published November 3, 2020 at 11:54 PM.