The next Westwood Neighborhood Council election will take place in 2019 instead of 2018 to accommodate a citywide change.
The council voted May 10 to approve the change after the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment said the city clerk will no longer hold neighborhood council elections on even-numbered years. This means the current council members, who were elected June 2016, will stay on the council for another year.
Council President Lisa Chapman said the council would have had to pay a fee to the DONE to hold the election in 2018.
“We want to spend all our money for the community, not thousands of dollars that go back to (the city),” Chapman said.
Elections are held every two years, as stated in the WWNC’s bylaws. If a council member leaves their position before their term is over, the council elects a replacement. Residents who live in Westwood, including UCLA students, staff and faculty, can run to be on the council.
To be fair, we did not vote to approve the change. All City neighborhood councils were asked to weigh in on the issue, most have decided to endorse the 2019 timeframe, so that we are not stuck paying a huge price for elections without the city clerk, who is the entity that ensures a smooth, honest election. We don’t end up making this choice, it is decided after weigh in from all councils, by the Dept of Neighborhood Empowerment (Done).