1822 / 54.96% Yes votes ...... 1493 / 45.04% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Background

Under state law, except to fill a mid-term vacancy, all members of the Ukiah City Council must be elected to their position, and the mayor is always a voting member of the city council. By statutory definition, the mayor also presides over the meetings of the city council.

Prior to 1984, as authorized by state law, all members of the city council were elected as city council members for four year terms of office. The mayor was selected by the City Council to preside over its meetings from among the five elected city council members for a one year term.

In 1984, as allowed by state law, a local measure was passed which requires the mayor to be separately elected for a two year term of office, resulting in a five member city council, composed of four elected city council members, serving four year terms of office and a separately elected mayor, serving a two year term of office.

On four occasions since 1984, one of the four elected city council members ran for the position of mayor midway through their term and was elected. When the city council member resigned his or her city council position to assume the mayor's position, the city council chose to appoint someone to fill the remaining two years of that city council member's four year term of office. As a result, during those remaining two years, the city council was composed of, at least, one appointed member, rather than four elected city council members and one elected mayor.

Measure V

Measure V would restore the system in effect until 1984. Rather than being separately elected for a two year term, the mayor would be selected by the city council from among the five elected city council members, all of whom serve four year terms of office. The city council would return to selecting its presiding officer annually from among its five members.

This change would eliminate the voters' opportunity to separately elect the mayor to serve a two year term. At the same time, it would avoid mid-term appointments by the city council to fill a city council vacancy created by an incumbent city council member resigning his or her position to assume the elected position of mayor. The mayor's duties, the qualifications for office, and compensation are the same whether the mayor is separately elected or chosen by the city council from among its members. In both cases, the mayor must be a resident and elector of the city at the time of his or her election or appointment.

If Measure V passes, it will take effect upon the expiration date of the incumbent mayor's term of office.

David J. Rapport

Elected Mayor = Appointed Council Member: Four times in the last twenty years, a Council member in mid-term has been elected Mayor. In order to serve as Mayor, they have had to resign their Council seat, creating a vacancy immediately after an election.

Vacancy Filled By Appointment: All four times the Council has filled the vacancy by appointment, rather than call for an expensive special election.

Appointments Controversial: All four times the appointment process has been politicized and controversial.

Current System Broken: It is anti-democratic to artificially create a vacancy immediately following an election. It is anti-democratic to have four politicians decide among themselves who the fifth Council member will be.

Restore Your Right: A return to the former system, which worked well for over one hundred years, will restore your right to elect all five City Council members.

Vote "YES" on Measure V. Fix the broken system and restore the right of the people to elect all of their representatives.

s/John McCowen
s/Mari Rodins/Douglas F. Crane
s/Phil Baldwin