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Murphy – The town council opposes a push by state legislators to turn non-partisan municipal elections in the state to partisan and combine those elections with state and federal races.
The Murphy council unanimously approved a resolution opposing any state-mandated changes to municipal elections without local approval.
The resolution, approved by council members at their Dec. 10 meeting, opposes ongoing attempts at the state level to align municipal election years with even-numbered state and federal election cycles, and to change the nature of municipal elections from non-partisan to partisan.
“The United States is already experiencing historically high levels of political polarization, and extending this polarization into local government would only erode community cohesion and detract from the effective and nonpartisan problem-solving that municipalities are known for,” according to the resolution.
“The Town of Murphy herby opposes any legislation, mandate or state action that changes the timing, structure, or partisan status of municipal elections without direct authorization or request from the municipalities itself,” the resolution states.
The council called on the N.C. General Assembly to respect the principle of local self-determination and refrain from enacting statewide or countywide changes to municipal elections without explicit support of the affected municipalities.
The Murphy Town Council has a mix of political affiliations. According to Cherokee County voter registration records, council members Cynthia Chastain, Jonathan Dickey and Mayor Tim Radford are all unaffiliated; Barry McClure, Gail Walker Stansell and Kimberly Harris are all Republicans; and Charlene Smith is a Democrat.
The Andrews Board of Aldermen is also non-partisan but with 100% Republican membership. Among partisan boards in Cherokee County, Republicans have 100% of the seats on the board of commissioners and board of education.
The law today
According to the University of North Carolina School of Government, “North Carolina law permits cities, towns and villages to use either partisan elections or any one of three versions of nonpartisan
elections.
“In partisan elections, candidates run as nominees of specific political parties or as independents,” according to the UNC School of Government. “Each political party selects its nominees in primary elections restricted to voters registered as affiliated with that political party. In nonpartisan elections, the candidates’ party affiliation is not listed on the ballot, and the political parties generally don’t provide support for the candidates. This form of election emerged during the progressive era as a way to remove politics from city administration.”
One argument for moving municipal elections from odd-numbered years to even-numbered years is that it would save money by combining them with state and federal elections. Town officials dispute that claim, pointing out that making the elections partisan would required primary elections, negating any such cost savings.
According to the resolution, a copy of which is being forwarded to the town’s legislative delegation, the N.C. League of Municipalities and other appropriate stakeholders, the town as well as municipalities across the state have long been entrusted with determining the structure, timing and format of their own elections.
The nation’s founders established a system in which powers are shared among federal, state and local governments. A unilateral state mandate on municipal elections would undermine this balance and erode the authority of local communities to govern themselves, according to the resolution.
“Municipal government is fundamentally about delivering effective, hands-on services such as policing, land-use planning, infrastructure maintenance, water an sewer utilities, emergency response and solid-waste collection – which are not partisan in nature and do not benefit from partisan polarization,” according to the resolution.
“Forcing municipal elections into even-numbered statewide and federal election cycles risks burying local issues and candidates beneath the nose of high-profile partisan campaigns, thereby diminishing the visibility, charity and community-based focus essential to local democracy.”
According to the resolution, shifting municipal elections to even-numbered years would likely cause local races and issues to become overshadowed by federal and statewide contests; reduce voter attention to local concerns, leading to less-informed participation and ‘drop-off’ voting; and increase the likelihood that municipal offices become more influenced by national partisan dynamics rather than local priorities.
It would also produce longer, more complex ballots and alter the composition of the electorate by mixing long-term, highly engaged local voters with occasional voters less familiar with the municipality and its candidates.
Arguments for
Party labels offer a quick frame of reference for how candidates view the political landscape, which is helpful in “low-information” local races where voters may know little about individual candidates. Party affiliation can give a general indication of a candidate’s likely approach to governance and policy issues, presenting a clearer choice for voters.
Political parties often have robust “get-out-the-vote” operations, which tend to be more effective in partisan races and can result in higher voter turnout. Parties have established processes for vetting candidates, and they can provide valuable fundraising and organizational support, which makes running for office less expensive for the candidate.
Partisan systems often have clearer legal stipulations for filling vacancies with a member of the same party, which some view as better reflecting the will of the people than an appointment process by an existing board.
‘Troubling’
The N.C. League of Municipalities calls the trend “troubling.”
“Why would anyone want to bring the current state of partisan polarization to those local issues?” the organization said. “Over the course of the last few legislative sessions, we have seen local bills – and some of them passed into law, others not – mandating that local elections be changed from non-partisan to partisan. It’s a troubling trend.
“These pieces of legislation, often part of larger bills with unrelated provisions, sometimes are aimed at a specific municipal or other elected board. Other times they are aimed at all local elections in one county. Most recently, the General Assembly approved a bill that would, among other things, require that all of the municipal elections in Forsyth County be held on a partisan basis. Winston-Salem is the only city or town in the county that does so.”
In response, the mayors of Kernersville, Clemmons, Lewisville, Walkertown, Tobaccoville, Bethania and Rural Hall sent a letter to legislators expressing their opposition to the move.
Those mayors wrote: “Recognizing that there is nothing partisan about fixing potholes, making sure the garbage is collected and keeping our neighborhoods safe, we strongly affirm that as nonpartisan bodies we are better able to serve our residents and make decisions based on the best interest of our residents.”
According to the organization, it is an important point that, at the local municipal level, elected officials often deal with issues neither encumbered with nor wrapped up in the tinge of partisan politics. Often, locally elected officials have little or no authority to affect issues that dominate federal and state politics, issues that can and do become embroiled in partisan controversy.
“Neither Durham, Wilmington, Lewisville nor Clemmons will be solving immigration law in this country; we won’t be legalizing marijuana; we won’t be determining military aid for Ukraine,” according to the organization.
“As the good mayors said, we will be fixing potholes. We will also be doing our best to keep our communities safe and provide amenities that make them great places to live for residents.
Two of the state’s largest cities, Charlotte and Winston-Salem, along with a few others, elect their municipal representatives on a partisan basis.