Seal Beach may cancel the November election. The move could save Seal Beach $50,000.
Three Seal Beach government offices were up for election in November, as well as some proposed City Charter amendments. But when the deadline for candidates to file had passed, only the incumbents had pulled papers to run.
So the City Council on Monday, Aug. 13, began the process to consider canceling the election.
Friday, Aug. 10, was the deadline for candidates to file nomination papers for the two Seal Beach City Council seats and the City Clerk’s Office.
City Clerk Linda Devine confirmed that Sloan and Miller were the only council candidates to file the papers.
Devine said at least one council district seat was usually contested.
In 2010, three council seats were up for election and all three were contested. In District 1, Planning Commissioner Ellery Deaton ran against Scott Levitt (son of now-Mayor Michael Levitt), Joe Kalmick and Robert Aguilar Jr. Incumbent Charles Antos had termed out and all the candidates were challengers.
In District 3, incumbent Councilman Gordon Shanks ran unopposed.
District 5 incumbent Levitt ran against Anne Seifert of the Where We Live Club in Leisure World.
The District 1 race went into a runoff between Kalmick and Deaton.
Election may be cancelled
City Attorney Quin Barrow said the deadline to cancel ballot measures was Wednesday, so he advised the council Monday night, Aug. 13, to direct staff to cancel the proposed City Charter amendments that would have appeared on the November ballot along with the names of candidates for city offices.
The council voted 4-0 in favor of canceling the charter amendment part of the election. (Mayor Michael Levitt had an excused absence for the meeting.)
The council also agreed to consider canceling the November elections for the city clerk and City Council districts 2 and 4. The council will meet at 5 p.m., Aug. 23, to make a final decision on whether to cancel the election and appoint the incumbents to their offices.
District 1 Councilwoman Ellery Deaton asked how much the city would save if the election were canceled.
Barrow said the city would save $50,000.
Deaton said that was a significant savings.
Barrow said Mayor Levitt would not be back for the next council meeting and that Councilman Sloan might not be at the meeting either. However, he said only three council members had to attend the next meeting to address the election issue.
