Measure T: Date Council Elect Mayor

League of Women Voters of California

Orange County, CA

November 5, 2002 Election

Measure T
Date Council Elect Mayor
City of Placentia
Charter Amendment - Majority Approval Required

7,557 / 81.1% Yes votes ...... 1,763 / 18.9% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Results as of Nov 12 4:00pm, 100.0% of Precincts Reporting (36/36)

Information shown below: Impartial Analysis | Arguments |

Shall Section 604 of the Charter of the City of Placentia be amended to clarify the date on which the City Council elects a Mayor?

Impartial Analysis from City Attorney

The current provisions of the City Charter provide that the City Council is required to reorganize itself and elect one of its members as Mayor at the first Tuesday following a general or special election at which "Councilmen" are elected. Election results, however, are usually not available at that time, any members of the City Council elected at the election may not be seated by such date, and a vote by the City Council for Mayor may not include a member or members of the City Council elected at the applicable election. This measure would require the City Council to elect the Mayor at the meeting at which the City Council approves the certification of election results, thereby assuring that any member of the City Council elected at such election will be seated and able to participate in any vote for Mayor. This measure would also change the Charter reference in this section from "Councilmen" to "members of the City Council."

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Arguments For Measure T

Arguments Against Measure T

This measure simply ensures that all newly elected members of the City Council will be able to vote for Mayor. Although this may seem like common sense, the timing for selection of a Mayor set forth in the City Charter may prevent newly elected Council members from voting for the Mayor for the first year after the Council members have been elected.

Our Charter requires the Council to elect a Mayor on the first Tuesday following the election for City Council. The election results, however, are generally not available at that time; it usually takes at least two to four weeks for the election results to be certified by the County and forwarded to the City. Thus, new members are not seated until after our Charter calls for the Mayor for the upcoming year to be elected.

This is not fair to the newly elected Council members and it is not fair to the electors who elected them. The Mayor should be elected by those members of the Council who will serve with the Mayor and not by any "lame duck" Council members who may be attending their last Council meeting

No opposing arguments were filed.

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Created: December 6, 2002 03:14 PST
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