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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2004-07-12 City Council (7)City of Palo Alto City Manager’s Report TO:HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL 14 FROM:CITY MANAGER DEPARTMENT:CITY MANAGER’S OFFICE DATE:JULY 12, 2004 CMR: 320:04 SUBJECT:NOMINATION AND ELECTION PROCESS FOR MAYOR AND VICE- MAYOR RECOMMENDATION The Policy and Services Committee recommends that the nomination and election process for mayor and vice-mayor be returned to Council for further discussion. BACKGROUND On November 24, 2003, the City Council referred the issue of mayor and vice-mayor nomination and election process to the Policy and Services Committee for "the establishment of a policy for future years." COMMITTEE REVIEW AND RECOMMENDATIONS The Policy and Services Committee addressed the nomination and election of mayor and vice-mayor issue at its March 30, 2004 meeting. After some discussion, the Committee agreed that the best course of action was to create a draft set of proposed election procedures. The Committee agreed to continue the item until it was able to review the newly written procedure. Council Member LaDoris Cordell agreed to provide the Committee with a draft procedure. Council Member Cordell submitted a document to the Committee on April 27, 2004, titled, "First Revised Draft." The proposed procedure suggested that the election of the mayor and vice-mayor be based on a seniority system. The details on how a seniority based nomination and election procedure would work are included in this document, which is attached. CMR:320:04 Page 1 of 2 On May 19, 2004, the Policy and Services Committee continued discussions on this issue. A motion was made to recommend the proposed seniority based system to Council; however, it was defeated by a 2-2 split vote. The Committee passed a subsequent motion, on a 3-1 vote, recommending that the Council review and discuss the nomination and election of mayor and vice-mayor issue. POLICY IMPLICATIONS This recommendation does not represent any change to existing City policies. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW This staff report does not represent a project under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). PREPARED BY: CHRIS Assistant to the City Manager CITY MANAGER APPROVA_: EMILY HARRISON Assistant City Manager ATTACHMENT Proposed Procedures for Election of Mayor and Vice Mayor CMR:320:04 Page 2 of 2 FIRST REVISED DRAFT 27 April 2004 To: Policy & Services Committee From: LaDoris H. Cordell Re: Proposed Procedures for Election of Mayor and Vice Mayor Existing Written Procedure: Article 3, Section 8 of the Palo Alto City Charter, provides, in pertinent part, that the council, at its first meeting in January, must elect the mayor and vice mayor. The Charter contains no language about how this election should take place, i.e., there is no mention of the nomination process. Section 2.04.060 of the Palo Alto City Charter provides, in pertinent part, that the election of the mayor and vice mayor shall be by a vote of a majority of council members. There exist no more detailed written procedures or policies for the election of the mayor and vice mayor in the Charter. Historical (Unwritten) Procedure: Almost without exception, the person who has served for the past year as vice mayor has been routinely elected mayor. Only rarely has this not occurred. With respect to the vice mayoral position, it is the impression of some council members that the person next in seniority is usually nominated and chosen as vice mayor. The Concern: A concern has been raised by some council members that there be more certainty in the election of the mayor and vice mayor because a problem arose last year when, at the meeting where the election of the mayor took place, questions were raised by some council members about the qualifications of the nominee. Those members felt that by raising such questions, they were fulfilling a legitimate function as elected officials. Others on the council felt that such questions were inappropriate, especially in light of the fact that this conduct was unprecedented for the election of the mayor. Without commenting upon the merits of either side, it is the case that predictability in the elections of the mayor and vice mayor will avoid such problems in the future. The Proposal: Election of the mayor and vice mayor will be based upon a seniority system, a practice which has been informally followed by the council for years. Seniority will be based upon the total number of consecutive years of service on the council. Sometime in December, before the first council meeting in January, the person with the highest seniority will inform the mayor of whether or not she/he desires to place her/his name into nomination for mayor. If the person does no___t desire to do so, then the person next in seniority will be given the same oppommity to do so, and so on down the line until a person expresses her/his intention to be nominated for mayor. When a person with seniority sufficiently high to be nominated for mayor, declines to be nominated, that person will rotate to the bottom of the list of seniority of all council members. However, in the instance where the council member who is at the top of the seniority list, is unable, for good cause, (i.e., including, but not limited to personal reasons), to be nominated for mayor or for vice mayor, that person will retain his/her top seniority position for the upcoming year. Once a person with the highest seniority expresses a desire to be nominated for mayor, that person’s name will be the only name submitted to the council for nomination. Then, at the first meeting in January, a vote of the council will take place, pursuant to the provisions of the Palo Alto City Charter. If that person is not elected mayor, then the next person in seniority will be asked to place her/his name into nomination. Of course, that person may withdraw her/his name at any time before the election has occurred. Should that happen, then the person next in seniority will be given the opportunity to be nominated for mayor. The election of the vice mayor will occur in the same fashion, i.e., the person with the next highest seniority will express whether or not she/he desires to be nominated for vice mayor. If not, then her!his name will rotate to the bottom of the.council seniority list. (Since the vice mayor spends a valuable year "in training" to be mayor, it is felt that if a person does not, in a particular year desire to be the vice mayor, then she/he should not be permitted to serve as mayor the following year, and should, thus, rotate to the bottom of the council seniority list.) In the instance in which two or more council members have the same seniority, i.e., the same number of consecutive years of service on the council, then seniority will be decided by the number of votes each received in her/his most recent election to the council. For example, if councilperson A has 6 years on the council and was the top vote-getter in her most recent election (2003) with 4,000 votes, and if councilperson B with 6 years on the council was the top vote-getter in his most recent election (2002) with 3,800 votes, then councilperson A will have seniority over Councilperson B. Where two or more council members have the same seniority (the number of votes garnered by each, notwithstanding) and are at the top of the seniority list, they may agree, amongst themselves, that one of them will be nominated for mayor. The council member(s) who is not, then, nominated, will no___~t go to the bottom of the seniority ladder, but will, instead, retain her/her top seniority position. Note that the criteria for seniority is total consecutive years of service on the council. Thus, ifa person served 8 years on the council, then left the council for a period of time, and was, again, elected to the council, those previous 8 years of service are not counted toward seniority. In this way, a person cannot move to the top of the seniority list over those council members who are currently serving because she or he previously served. Instead, a person returning to service on the council is treated as a newcomer who must start at the bottom of the seniority ladder.