By Sonya Klopfenstein
Published July 25th 2003 in Journal Star
PEORIA - Instead of a small core of "bullet" voters, at-large Councilman Gary Sandberg had broad support from across the city when he garnered the most votes in the April 1 election, a cumulative voting analysis shows.
Sandberg - who received 17,262 votes - also had the highest number of voters behind him, or 7,181. That's 102 more than those who backed second place finisher, at-large Councilman Eric Turner.
"He's unquestionably broadened his basis of support . . . but he's still benefiting from cumulative voting," said Larry Aspin, a political science professor at Bradley University who prepared a preliminary report on the voting data after studying individual ballots.
Sandberg's support wasn't as strong in the 1999 election, when cumulative, or "bullet" voting - which allows people to cast five votes for one candidate or divide them among several - allowed him to knock former councilman Leonard Unes out of office by less than 100 votes.
In that race, Sandberg received a total of 9,316 votes and Unes had 9,238, but just 3,364 voters notched Sandberg's name compared to Unes' 5,973.
Between then and the 2003 election, the number of Sandberg supporters more than doubled - something Aspin suspects could be a result of his run for mayor, less bad publicity and more opportunity to get his "basic services" message out to the public.
"I'm not surprised (Sandberg) picked up voters. I'm surprised the number of voters he picked up," Roberta Parks, chief operating officer of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday.
"There's a message in this vote and I need to look at (the data) more. I suspect the message might be, 'We're frustrated,' " she said of voters' sentiment.
Mary Alice Erickson, state central committeeman for the 18th Congressional District, said name recognition is key in securing the most votes.
"If you were to take a poll, I think probably Gary Sandberg would be the most well known of all of the City Council members," she said of the 14-year council veteran. "After all, only two years before that (Sandberg) ran for mayor. Of the five, he has been in more elections and had more press than any of them."
Aspin's data indicates the same five incumbents would have been chosen from a field of eight candidates without a "bullet" or cumulative voting system, although the order might have changed between Councilmen Jim Ardis, John Morris and Chuck Grayeb.
Of those three, Morris had the most voters behind him, followed by Grayeb and Ardis. But with cumulative voting, Ardis finished third, Morris fourth and Grayeb last.
Sandberg benefited more than any other candidate from the cumulative voting system, with 23 percent of his support falling into that category, or 1,641 total bullet votes. Still, that's down significantly from 1999, when 63 percent of his support came from "bullets."
Candidate Patti Polk had the least bullet votes in 2003, with 373.
Peoria's use of cumulative voting in at-large elections began in 1991 as part of a settlement with minority residents who sued the city in 1987. The intent is to get more minority representation on the council, although some question whether that goal is achieved.
Most voters - roughly one-third - took advantage of the "bullet" system to give all five votes to one candidate in recent at-large elections.
Aspin said he plans to eventually break down the election data by precinct to determine the demographics of those who supported various candidates.
Sandberg - who received 17,262 votes - also had the highest number of voters behind him, or 7,181. That's 102 more than those who backed second place finisher, at-large Councilman Eric Turner.
"He's unquestionably broadened his basis of support . . . but he's still benefiting from cumulative voting," said Larry Aspin, a political science professor at Bradley University who prepared a preliminary report on the voting data after studying individual ballots.
Sandberg's support wasn't as strong in the 1999 election, when cumulative, or "bullet" voting - which allows people to cast five votes for one candidate or divide them among several - allowed him to knock former councilman Leonard Unes out of office by less than 100 votes.
In that race, Sandberg received a total of 9,316 votes and Unes had 9,238, but just 3,364 voters notched Sandberg's name compared to Unes' 5,973.
Between then and the 2003 election, the number of Sandberg supporters more than doubled - something Aspin suspects could be a result of his run for mayor, less bad publicity and more opportunity to get his "basic services" message out to the public.
"I'm not surprised (Sandberg) picked up voters. I'm surprised the number of voters he picked up," Roberta Parks, chief operating officer of the Peoria Area Chamber of Commerce, said Thursday.
"There's a message in this vote and I need to look at (the data) more. I suspect the message might be, 'We're frustrated,' " she said of voters' sentiment.
Mary Alice Erickson, state central committeeman for the 18th Congressional District, said name recognition is key in securing the most votes.
"If you were to take a poll, I think probably Gary Sandberg would be the most well known of all of the City Council members," she said of the 14-year council veteran. "After all, only two years before that (Sandberg) ran for mayor. Of the five, he has been in more elections and had more press than any of them."
Aspin's data indicates the same five incumbents would have been chosen from a field of eight candidates without a "bullet" or cumulative voting system, although the order might have changed between Councilmen Jim Ardis, John Morris and Chuck Grayeb.
Of those three, Morris had the most voters behind him, followed by Grayeb and Ardis. But with cumulative voting, Ardis finished third, Morris fourth and Grayeb last.
Sandberg benefited more than any other candidate from the cumulative voting system, with 23 percent of his support falling into that category, or 1,641 total bullet votes. Still, that's down significantly from 1999, when 63 percent of his support came from "bullets."
Candidate Patti Polk had the least bullet votes in 2003, with 373.
Peoria's use of cumulative voting in at-large elections began in 1991 as part of a settlement with minority residents who sued the city in 1987. The intent is to get more minority representation on the council, although some question whether that goal is achieved.
Most voters - roughly one-third - took advantage of the "bullet" system to give all five votes to one candidate in recent at-large elections.
Aspin said he plans to eventually break down the election data by precinct to determine the demographics of those who supported various candidates.