Mayor's Weekly (May 26 – June 1)

On my Mind
Election day is now less than 48 hours away.  By now, the majority of all the mail in ballots have been sent, but several will still walk into a polling location on Tuesday to cast their votes.  While Marin typically takes home the prize for the highest voter turnout in the state, chances are the overall turnout will still be quite low and that’s unfortunate.

In the last Novato city council election, only 32.3% of registered voters participated.  It will be interesting to see what the percentage is come Tuesday, but the bigger question is what can be done to get more people out to the polls?  Or, should a low turnout just be accepted as the norm and part of the democratic process?  Fortunately the success of vote by mail has certainly helped--without that, we might be less than 25%.  I am sure sometime in the near future, electronic voting will gain traction, but time will tell if that will actually increase turnout or just sustain the already low numbers.  Of course, there is always the compulsory approach currently in place in over 20 countries including Australia, Brazil, and Argentina where residents are required to vote or risk facing fines or community service.

Around Town
Junior Second Units – The city is collecting feedback regarding Junior Second Units.  Read more and share your thoughts on Open Novato here.

Novato Festival of Art, Wine and Music – The festival is just a couple of weeks away on June 14th-15th.  For more information visit www.novatoartwinemusic.com.

The Week Ahead
Monday (June 2):
Planning Commission Meeting – 7:00PM (City Hall)

Tuesday (June 3):
Election Day – Don’t forget to Vote

City Council Meeting
Closed Session @ 5:30PM (City Hall)
Consent Items @ 6:30PM (City Hall)
Marin Valley Mobile Country Club @ 7:00PM (MVMCC)

Thursday (June 5):
City Council Retreat – 5:00PM (Hamilton Community Center)

Saturday (June 7):
Vision Workshop for North, North Redwood Corridor – 9:00AM (Margaret Todd Senior Center)