At the time, the city comprised 174,000 residents.
A group called Yes 2 Referendum had pushed a citywide vote that would end the structure of nine members serving nine districts and replace it with a council with six single-member districts and three at-large, or citywide, seats. The mayor would continue to be elected at-large. The referendum was the only issue on a special ballot in February of that year.
Just over 6,200 people voted against the change, nicknamed “6-3” during months of community debate.
The light turnout just 12% of registered voters underscored that, as passionate as the council structure issue was to some in the political chattering class, most city residents’ minds were on other things. In fact, a 2000 referendum to change the seats to the current single-member model drew more voters, despite the city having less population at the time. That year, more than 8,200 voted in favor and just under 7,000 against.