I'm pretty sure it was at least the year before, though I could be wrong. I don't agree that arbcom is irrelevant to WP editors generally speaking.
Neither do I, because it wasn't a claim I was making, although perhaps I could have been clearer in my wording and said that there is a sizable group of active Wikipedians, perhaps a majority, who perceive ArbCom, when they perceive it at all, as irrelevant to them. That said, your other points are pretty much valid, although I am not sure that even everyone who has the time to become informed prior to voting will have the inclination to do so.
Daniel Case