WESTON, WI (WSAU) — Trustees in Weston voted down a proposal to create three districts for future elections on Monday.
“The majority of the board didn’t feel it was necessary,” said Village President Mark Maloney. “We think the popular vote at large really resonates with the whole village.”
The proposal would have split the Village into three districts with each electing two trustees. Each district would have one seat up for election each year. Maloney notes that under that proposal someone could finish 4th or 5th in the popular vote total and still win a seat on the board.
“We asked ‘what problem is this solving?’ And we actually came to the conclusion as a whole that it may cause more issues or problems,” said Maloney.
He went on to add that it would also bring gerrymandering into the equation for the village, which involves drawing political maps to benefit one party or candidate over another. As it stands, that’s not an issue as the top three vote-getters village-wide win seats on the board.
Monday’s discussion was brought forward at the request of Trustee Nate Feine. Maloney says it was a worthwhile discussion, but the support wasn’t there. He says he was opposed because it could cause some to lose sight of the big picture. “I think we need to think of everyone in the village. Everybody residing, renting, doing business here- everything. And our neighbors too.
“We just didn’t think holding someone to a certian district was the right thing to do,” he added.
A motion to pass the measure during Monday’s meeting failed for lack of a second. A motion to dismiss the measure was then made and passed on a vote of 5-1 with one trustee abstaining.
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