POLL: Should the City Council Hold a Special Election?

Last night, a deadlocked city council could not come to an agreement as to hold a special election in November 2012, or to wait until November 2013, to fill the vacancy left by Andy Klein's departure.

The council agreed they wanted to appoint a fifth member, but the question remains: should their term expire this November, or should they hold the chair until the actual election cycle loops back around?

"Can we afford so much instability in the Council’s membership?" asked Councilman Mark Olbert over on his blog. "A November, 2012 election means potentially seven new faces between March, 2011, when Omar passed away, and December, 2013. No question that’s a lot of turnover. Does it matter?"

Since Omar Ahmad's death last year, the council has seen the appointment of Brad Lewis, the departure of both Lewis and Randy Royce, who lost an election to newcomers Mark Olbert and Ron Collins. Now with Klein stepping down, the council faces more change.

Matt Grocott and Bob Grassilli remain the only to constants on the council.

Olbert raised other concerns: will enough people run for a one-year term? Or, perhaps more importantly, will the right people run?

We at San Carlos Patch want to know what you think: should the council hold a special election in Novemebr 2012, or wiat until 2013?