2009 Hopkins Charter Commission Annual ReportHopkins Charter Commission
Annual Report
2009
The Hopkins Charter Commission met on April 28 and June 30.
Commission members included:
Jannina Aristy
Dorothy Boen
David Day
Liz Dorn
Roger Gross
Fran Hesch
Karen Jensen
Roger Johnson
Steve Lewis
Jerre Miller
Emily Wallace-Jackson
The Commission discussed Instant Runoff Elections
The Commission was given updates on ranked ballot voting in Minneapolis and St. Paul. The
Commission also met with Representative Steve Simon. While the Hopkins Charter Commission
strongly supports legislation allowing cities to use ranked ballot voting it wants to ensure that any
legislation allows cities with multiple seat elections to choose a method other than Single
Transferable Voting (STV) for their ballots.
Representative Simon said the he had discussions with a representative of FairVote Minnesota and
that FairVote would not oppose a bill that offered an alternative to STV for multiple seat elections.
He said that he intends to add this provision to any bill offered next session. He said that he would
have to discuss this with the Senate sponsor, Ann Rest.
Representative Simon said that there is time to work on this bill between now and February when
the 2010 session begins. He also told the Commission that Aspen, Colorado uses a method similar
to the one proposed by Hopkins to elect its City Council members.
The Commission thanked Representative Simon for his efforts and said that they would be willing
to assist in the effort to fashion a bill for the next session.
Charter Amendment
The Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Hopkins City Council adopt Ordinance
2009-1006 which would fix the size of the charter commission at eleven members. The City
Council unanimously approved the ordinance on September 1 and it took effect on December 10,
2009.