The Sonoma County Young Democrats have endorsed Susan Harvey, a qualified and ethical planning commissioner in Cotati, to replace Barich. We believe that a public official should be an individual of character. Mr. Barich’s actions have demonstrated not only a lack of character, but a lack of integrity.
The Sonoma County Young Democrats support the recall. We support Susan Harvey. We do not support George Barich, or his incredibly inappropriate behavior while on the Council. His latest stunts have done nothing to improve his reputation in our eyes, nor those of the community.
The blog post shown below discusses the constitutional merit of the Cotati recall process, and is not specific to the current recall. This post is not reflective of the official position of SCYD, rather, it is an expression of an individual member's opinion, which is valued and protected. However, as above, the position of the Sonoma County Young Democrats is in favor of the recall.
If there is any confusion on this matter, please contact chair@sonomacyd.org.
Cotati's Recall Procedure
By Kim OJ (please note disclaimer above!)
On November 17th 2009 Cotati will be deciding whether or not to recall City Council Member George Barich and replace him with another candidate. Barich is now walking Cotati, knocking on doors in what looks like a losing battle to retain his seat. Barich needs 50% of the voters to vote "NO" on the recall, despite the fact that he was elected to the city council with only 16.4% of the votes, and the two candidates who finished ahead of him in the 2008 race each got 20.2% of the votes.
One of the most fundamental aspects of Democracy is the protection of minorities from the oppression of the majority. This is expressed in the value of fundamental and equal rights, rights which cannot be repealed by majority decision. This is what the Bill of Rights represents. This should also mean equal right to democratic representation. The way city council elections are conducted in Cotati allows minority opinions a chance for a voice on the city council. George Barich is that minority opinion on the Cotati City Council, who notably stands out from his fellow council members with his fiscally conservative opposition to federal stimulus money and the proposed sales tax increase, which would help Cotati's budget problems. But if Barich can be recalled by simple majority, the minority that he represents has been robbed of their equal access to representation.
The way recall works essentially means that any elected, who is not part of the majority, could be recalled and replaced by a majority approved candidate. It is a problem very similar to the Gerrymandering of districts where minorities are isolated to favor the ruling majority. The democratic problem becomes even more apparent when you look at potentially absurd election results. There are 3 candidates running for George Barich's city council seat, which means that one of them could be elected with as few as 34% of the votes. Thus Barich could garner more "NO" on the recall votes (e.g. 49.9%) than the top replacement candidate, and still be recalled and replaced by a candidate with fewer votes.
Recall George Barich
George Barich
Alternate Candidates:
Linell Hardy
Susan Harvey (Endorsed by Sonoma County Young Democrats)
Eric Kirchmann
