TO: HONORABLE COUNCILMEMBERS

FROM: MAYOR STERN

DATE: DECEMBER 2, 2003

SUBJECT: BACKGROUND ON MAYOR AND MAYOR PRO TEM SELECTION

RECOMMENDATION:

1. Select Mayor and Mayor pro tem using Rule of Procedure 4.1 and 4.2, which state:

4.1 Election of the Mayor

The Mayor is a member of the City Council and is annually elected by majority vote of the City Council at the first regular meeting in December or, in the case of an election year, upon certification of the election results. As a member of the City Council, the Mayor shall have all the powers of a member.

4.2 Mayor Pro Tem

The Mayor Pro Tem shall be selected by a Council majority vote.

BACKGROUND:

The decision as to who should serve as Mayor and Mayor pro tem is presently addressed by our Rules of Procedure 4.1 and 4.2. Those rules leave that decision entirely to the majority of the City Council. Those Rules make no reference to any other Policy or mechanical tool to make that decision. In the recent past, some have suggested that there is a mechanical rule that instead dictates who shall be selected as Mayor and Mayor pro tem, and that in actuality it is not to be simply a decision by the majority.

In this memo I shall trace the history of the various policies that have been adopted from time to time by our City Council. I shall also provide some historical data regarding the selection of Mayor over the last 24 years.

Ultimately, the decision as to who to select should, in my opinion, be left to each City Council, and no rule, other than selection by majority, should be adopted. Nor should any City Council attempt to dictate to any future City Council how that future City Council should select the Mayor and Mayor pro tem.

THE DIFFERENT POLICIES THAT THE COUNCIL HAS ADOPTED FROM TIME TO TIME:

1975 POLICY

April 1, 1975 - Resol. No. 75-31:

Mayor: At the second meeting in March of each year, except as otherwise provided by law, Council shall organize and select a Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore

1979 POLICY

July 3, 1979 - Resol. No. 79-62:

Mayor: (1) Rotate the position of Mayor on an annual basis among the members of the City Council. In electing a person to the position of Mayor, priority shall be given to those individuals who have not held the position of Mayor previously and to the person or persons who have served on the City Council the longest period of time without being elected to the position of Mayor.

(2) In the event that all members of the City Council have held the position of Mayor, then priority shall be given to the person or persons who have served the longest period without being Mayor.

Mayor Pro Tem: Silent

1983 POLICY

March 1, 1983 - Minute Order:

(1) This policy supercedes all previous policies.
(2) Council shall reorganize at the 1st meeting in December;
(3) The member of Council nominated for Mayor Pro Tem shall be that member who has served the longest as a councilmember since last being mayor, or who has served the longest and not been mayor;

Mayor: (4) The incumbent Mayor Pro Tem shall be nominated for Mayor;
(5) New Councilperson(s) shall be placed ahead of the Mayor serving at the time of election in the rotation order. In the case of multiple new councilmembers, their order shall be determined by the election totals;
(6) Any councilmember may request to be dropped back in rotation order one slot subject to the approval of the Council.

[It is also worth noting that the Council that adopted this Policy did not feel bound to apply it. In 1988-89 John McTaggart was Mayor pro tem. However, in December 1989 the City Council chose Mel Hughes as Mayor rather than John McTaggart, choosing not to make the Mayor pro tem the Mayor. It left John McTaggart as Mayor pro tem that year. It again chose not to elevate him to Mayor. Instead in December 1990 the City Council selected Douglas Hinchcliffe as Mayor.]

1993 RULE

March 2, 1993 - Resol. No. 93-20.

Mayor: Annually elected by majority vote at 1st regular Meeting in December, or, in the case of an election year, upon certification of the election results.

Mayor Pro Tem: Shall be selected by a Council majority vote.

2000 RULE

4.1 Election of the Mayor

The Mayor is a member of the City Council and is annually elected by majority vote of the City Council at the first regular meeting in December or, in the case of an election year, upon certification of the election results. As a member of the City Council, the Mayor shall have all the powers of a member.

4.2 Mayor Pro Tem
The Mayor Pro Tem shall be selected by a Council majority vote.

[Resolution 2000-01, January 18, 2000.]

SINCE AT LEAST 1978 EVERY CITY COUNCIL MEMBER HAS SERVED AS MAYOR IN HIS/HER FIRST TERM:

I have set forth the history since 1979 as it relates to the ability of each City Council member to serve as Mayor during his/her first term. Here is what the history reveals:

• Ann Shaw - elected in special election in 1977, then in 1978.
• Mayor in her first full term, (April 1979 – April 1980)

• Barbara Hein - first elected 1978.
• Mayor in her first term, second year (April 1980 – April 1981)

• Jacki Bacharach – first elected 1980
• Mayor in her first term (Nov. 1983 – Nov. 1984)

• John McTaggart, first elected Nov. 1983
• Mayor in his first term, second year (Dec. 1984-85)

• Douglas Hinchliffe, first elected Nov. 1983
• Mayor in his first term, third year (Dec. 1985-86)

• Mel Hughes, first elected Nov. 1983
• Mayor in his first term, fourth year, (Dec. 1986-87)

• Susan Brooks, first elected Nov. 1991
• Mayor in her first term, second year (Dec. 1992-93)

• Steven Kuykendall, first elected Nov. 1991
• Mayor in his first term, third year (Dec. 1993-94)

• Lee Byrd, first elected in Nov. 1993
• Mayor in his first term, second year (Dec. 1994-95)

• Marilyn Lyon, elected Nov. 1993
• Mayor in her first term, third year (Dec. 1995-96)

• Barbara Ferraro, first elected in Nov. 1995
• Mayor in her first term, third year (Dec. 1997-98)

• Tom Hollingsworth, first elected Nov. 1995
• Mayor in his first term, fourth year (Dec. 1998-99)

• Douglas Stern, first elected in Nov. 1999
• Mayor in his first term, fourth year (Dec. 2002-03)

THE MAYORS IF THE 1983 POLICY (AS INTERPRETED BY SOME) ACTUALLY DICTATED THE RESULT:

As noted above, I believe that the only policy that this Council should follow is that set forth in Rules 4.1 and 4.2 – majority selects the Mayor and Mayor pro tem. However, I think it valuable to compare the outcome that was suggested the past two years by one council member. Below is the result had the City Council followed the interpretation of the 1983 Policy suggested by some.

• Barbara Ferraro, first elected Nov. 1995, re-elected in Nov. 1999
• Would have served her second time as Mayor, second term, fourth year (Dec. 2002-03)

• Douglas Stern, first elected Nov. 1999
• Would have served as Mayor in his second term, first year (Dec. 2003-04)

• Peter Gardiner, first elected Nov. 2001
• Would have served as Mayor in his First term, fourth year (Dec. 2004-05)

• Larry Clark, first elected Nov. 2001
• Would have served as Mayor in his second term, first year (Dec. 2005-06)

• Steve Wolowicz, first elected Nov. 2003
• Would have served as Mayor in his first term, fourth year (Dec. 2006-07)

• Tom Long, first elected Nov. 2003
• Would have served as Mayor in his second term, first year (Dec. 2007-08)

Thus, the 1983 Policy (as interpreted by some) would have caused a majority of new council members taking office commencing in 1999 to not serve as Mayor in their first term. While there is no particular reason to achieve the result of allowing each new member to so serve, it may be seen as at least one factor that council members may view as desirable. Each Council member should make that determination for himself/herself.

CONCLUSION:

The City Council has in place Rules 4.1 and 4.2 that leaves the determination of who should serve as Mayor and Mayor pro tem to the five members of the City Council, by majority vote. No other policy or rule is in place.

The City Council members should exercise their judgment on whatever basis they deem best to decide who shall serve. The City Council sitting at any particular point in time should not attempt to dictate the result for any future City Council.

Respectfully submitted,

Douglas Stern,

Mayor

Schedule of Policies/Rules

Mayors and Mayor pro tem