Decision time in Brookings: Voters to weigh in on city, school candidates, charter changes

BROOKINGS If you want a say in the makeup of the Brookings City Council and the Brookings School Board, along with changes to the Brookings City Charter, youve got two opportunities to do so early voting today or casting your ballot on Tuesday.

Thats right. Its election time, and candidates are really hoping you turn out to support them. Early voting is available today until 5 p.m. at the Brookings City & County Government Center, 520 Third St. Come Tuesday, polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and people will be able to vote at:

• Brookings Activity Center, 320 Fifth Ave.
• Bethel Baptist Church, 714 17th Ave. S.
• Holy Life Tabernacle Church, 241 Mustang Pass
• Impact Church in Aurora, 201 E. Pine St. (School Board portion of ballot only)

As of late Friday afternoon, 770 voters had already cast their ballots in early voting, according to Brookings County Finance Officer Lori Schultz.

In the City Council race, voters will be able to select two of three hopefuls to occupy two open seats. The terms run for three years, and your choices are:

• Al Austreim
• Bonny Specker
• Holly Tilton Byrne

On the School Board side of the equation, the setup is the same three candidates for two open seats, with each term running three years. Two will win, and the choices are:

• Cassie Juba
• Kelsey Bowman
• Teri Johnson

Voters will also choose if the Brookings City Charter needs to be updated. The charter is basically the citys equivalent to the U.S. Constitution, and has been only updated once since its establishment in 2002 and that was in 2006.

The proposed changes are primarily housekeeping nature, and include such things as, per City Attorney Steve Britzman:

• A city residency requirement for the city manager, in order to ensure local awareness and accountability.
• Establishing a decennial charter review process while providing flexibility for more frequent updates to the charter.
• Increasing opportunities for greater public engagement throughout the charter.

The full breadth of the proposal can be found at https://shorturl.at/QiKa6.

Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].