I voted for FVCC incumbent trustees Nystuen and Lund today. Along with John Phelps and Tom Harding, they’re doing a good job. I found no reason to replace any of them with the slate of tea party reactionaries led by 76-year-old Ed Berry, Ph.D.
Nor did I find any reason to believe that the trustees acted illegally by canceling uncontested elections, or by filling vacancies by appointment shortly before an election. Montana’s law allows such decisions.
But these are bad practices, anti-democratic practices, and the law should be changed.
Uncontested elections waste money because the outcome is preordained: therefore, when there’s only one candidate per position, it’s best to tell the voters to stay home and to divert the money for the election to the classroom. That’s the rationale for elections by acclamation.
The trustees regard election by acclamation as an act of fiscal responsibility. But citizens can and do regard acclamation as taking away their right to vote; which is how I regard it.
One possibility: forbid reallocating the money to the classroom or any purpose other than holding an election. That would formally remove any financial incentive for discouraging contested elections while still allowing elections by acclamation.
My preferred solution, however, has two components. First, move the trustee elections to the even-numbered-year general elections. That would increase turnout and the political legitimacy of the outcome. Second, if a position is uncontested, offer the voter of the choice of approving or not approving the candidate on the ballot (I would do that with every contest, not just school trustee elections).
If a position becomes vacant less than six months before the next election, it should be filled at that election, not by appointment. Otherwise, retiring incumbents have an incentive to resign early so that their proteges can be appointed to the board and thus run for election with incumbent status.
These changes must be made by the Montana Legislature.