The City Council voted 5 to 2 last Saturday in favor of moving municipal elections, previously held the first Tuesday of May every three years, to November, meaning local elections will sometimes coincide with national and state elections.

The first November elections for City Council and School Board will begin in 2012. Three-year terms will commence January 1 of the following year, according to the ordinance.

The debate over altering the citys election laws has been discussed on and off for years with a melee of reasoning on all sides of the spectrum, from the economics of holding separate voting days to the idea that one political party will benefit over the other.

But the issue has not been so thoroughly discussed by the public as it was at Saturdays public hearing and legislative session, where about 40 residents addressed the City Council during a session lasting more than nine hours.

I could throw out a little sarcasm and say we probably have more people here speaking on this item than voted in the recent election, Mayor Bill Euille said.

But jokes ended as citizens mostly opponents to the switch spoke out.

The two starkest sects of the much-debated and attention-grabbing issue consisted of those who believe moving elections to November will engage more people, therefore making the results more representative of the citys population, and those believing the prospect of November elections dilutes local issues ones that stand out in May with state and national ones.

Voters are not disenfranchised, they are disinterested, said former city councilwoman Joyce Woodson, speaking against moving the elections. Whose fault is that?

Some believe November elections will cause uninformed voters to pull the lever somewhat arbitrarily on their way to the presidential or gubernatorial ballot; others believe November elections are more inclusive, regardless of voters everyday civic involvement.

Apparently there are some people in this city that think its OK to consider that we have two classes of voters, said Susan Kellom. Those that we want to vote in May, and those that we really just dont want voting for local people those that somehow are not worthy.

But some were more concerned with the process and perceived politics of the decision. The term lame duck was used repeatedly to describe what many residents saw as a City Council nearing the end of its term pushing a selfish political agenda before the group is broken up.

Mayor Bill Euille noted that the Council has been considering the issue for years, but a number of speakers suggested that out-going council members abstain from voting on the ordinance.

The perception of many Alexandrians is that the timing of this move is because two members arent going to be seated in July, resident Patrick Costello said. This outgoing council has no business whatsoever of doing this now.

Some speakers, like Woodson and Lynwood Campbell, helped carry out studies, ordered by the city in 2007, aimed at surveying voters opinions on moving elections. Both spoke against the ordinance based on those studies.

As did Katy Cannady, president of the Alexandria League of Women Voters, a group that surveyed city residents and concluded that moving the elections to November was not crucial to voter turnout.

Ignoring actual data in favor of assumptions is never a good way to reach any decision, she said.

For some Council members, holding elections in May puts too much of a stress on their role as a public official a part time job. Campaigning takes place during the budget season, regarded as the most important act of Council.

During the campaign, is it a fair expectation to you that as elected officials we have day jobs, families, and spend 20 days working on the budget during the spring so that we can respond to the community and listen to those budget issues, and campaign at the same time? Councilman Rob Krupicka asked one speaker.

In the end, Vice Mayor Del Pepper and Councilman Ludwig Gaines voted against the ordinance, with the rest of the Council voting in favor of it.

I think that it boils down to one issue for me, and its a matter of good government, Pepper said. As was said, this was our pothole election. This gave us a chance to focus on those local issues that affect everybody so closely.

A quirky Virginia law states that once the municipal government moves its election from May to November it cannot be undone. The ordinance went into effect directly after it was passed, and Council ordered staff to move on adjusting the city charter and exploring the nuances and details involved like the possibility of staggered terms before the first election in 2012.