HomeMy WebLinkAboutA06 Election of Mayor and Vice Mayor and Dais Seating Order
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SUBJECT: ELECTION OF MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR AND DAIS SEATING NO.: A-6
ORDER
PURPOSE:
To establish a Council Procedure for the annual election of Mayor and Vice Mayor and the
Councilmember seating arrangement at the dais.
DEFINITIONS:
For purposes of this policy, Highest Ranking M
on City Council for the greatest number of consecutive days in the immediately preceding ten
1
(10) years. For purposes of determining the number of consecutive days served, the first day of
service shall be the date the councilmember was first sworn in as a councilmember in the
immediately preceding ten (10) years.
If two or more councilmembers have served for the same number of consecutive days in the
immediately preceding ten (10mean the member who
has served on City Council for the greatest number of consecutive days in the immediately
preceding ten (10) years ğƓķ received the highest number of votes in the election that initiated
their current consecutive years of service.
For purposes of this policy, Seniority shall be determined by number of consecutive days of
service in the immediately preceding ten (10) years and, if necessary to break a tie, then by the
2
number of votes received in the election that initiated the councilmembers current consecutive
years of service. For purposes of determining the number of consecutive days served, the first
day of service shall be the date the councilmember was first sworn in as a councilmember in the
immediately preceding ten (10) years.
A councilmember who returns to City Council after a break in service of any duration starts over
for purposes of determining rank and Seniority.
Ɏ
1
Ten (10) years rather than eight (8) years has been used to account for the fact the Charter Section 500 permits
councilmembers who have been appointed or elected to fill an unexpired term of not more than two years in length
to serve two additional consecutive four-year terms, and, therefore, a councilmember appointed to fill a vacancy
may serve up to ten (10) consecutive years.
2
The highest number of votes shall equate to the most seniority.Ɏ
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SUBJECT: ELECTION OF MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR AND DAIS SEATING NO.: A-6
ORDER
POLICY:
1. Election Process
a. Pursuant to Section 505 of the City Charter, the Council shall elect one member to
serve as Mayor and one member to serve as Vice Mayor, both for one-year terms, at
the first Council meeting in January of each year. The elections shall be listed
consecutively on the agenda.
b. After the Mayor or City Clerk opens the agenda item, the Mayor shall open the floor
for public comment on both positions.
c. At the close of the public comment period, the floor shall be open for a nomination
for Mayor pursuant to the Informal Rotation outlined in Section 2 of this Policy. The
Mayor shall recognize any Councilmember who wants to make a nomination. A
motion and a second for the member next in the rotation shall be made and a vote
will be in order. Upon receiving a majority vote of the Council, that member will be
selected for Mayor.
d. The Council may determine by majority vote that it will entertain additional nominees.
If more than one nomination is made, each Councilmember shall vote for one
nominee of their choice by ballot. Ballots will be collected, and the City Clerk will
of the Council will be selected for Mayor. In the event no nominee receives a majority
vote, the Councilmembers will vote again until one nominee receives a majority vote.
(i). After the election of Mayor, the same process shall be followed for the election
of Vice Mayor, beginning with the nomination process described in subsection
c. above.
(ii). The Council may, by majority vote, choose to use another procedure for the
election of Mayor and Vice Mayor provided that public participation in the
process is not diminished.
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SUBJECT: ELECTION OF MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR AND DAIS SEATING NO.: A-6
ORDER
2. Informal Rotation
a. The following will provide historical guidance for the rotation of the seats of Mayor
and Vice Mayor in the City of Mountain View. The rotation system outlined is not
mandatory. Rather, it is designed to provide guidance to the Council in selecting the
Mayor and Vice Mayor.
b.
c. One year of prior service as a past or present member of the Mountain View City
Council is recommended to be eligible for the position of Mayor.
d. If the Vice Mayor is unable or elects not to succeed to the Mayor position and all
eligible Councilmembers have served as Mayor once in the preceding 10 years, then
the Councilmember who has had the greatest number of days between the conclusion
of their service as Mayor and the date of the nomination shall serve as Mayor.
e. The Highest Ranking Member of the Council who has not yet served as Mayor in their
current consecutive years of service and has not been recalled since their most recent
election or reelection to the City Council rotates into the position of Vice Mayor.
f. If all current councilmembers have served as Mayor in their current consecutive years
of service, then any incoming (newly elected or appointed) councilmember is eligible
for election to the Vice Mayor position. If there are no incoming Councilmembers,
then the Councilmember who has had the greatest number of days between the
conclusion of their service as Mayor and the date of the nomination shall serve as Vice
Mayor. If there is more than one incoming councilmember, they will rotate in as Vice
Mayor and then Mayor based on Seniority. Once a c
Mayor/Vice Mayor rotation is established, it does not change regardless of whether a
newly elected councilmember receives more votes than a councilmember reelected
to a consecutive term.
g. If the Mayor or Vice Mayor seat becomes vacant during the one-year term for that
office, the Council will determine the eligibility for filling the vacancy, taking into
consideration the length of time remaining in the term and the wishes of the members
in the rotation to fill the vacancy. A Councilmember who fills a vacancy for fewer than
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SUBJECT: ELECTION OF MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR AND DAIS SEATING NO.: A-6
ORDER
183 days shall not be deemed to have served as either Mayor or Vice Mayor for the
purpose of the Informal Rotation.
h. Councilmembers elected or appointed to a term of less than four (4) years shall be
placed in rotation immediately behind members previously elected or appointed and
those elected to a full term at the same election. If more than one member is elected
or appointed, they shall be placed in the rotation according to the length of term and
number of votes, as applicable.
3. Dais Seating Order
a. After the meeting at which selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor took place, the newly
elected Mayor shall be seated in the middle position the dais. The Vice Mayor shall be
Mayor
seniority with the next most senior member sitting
Audience
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Revised: December 5, 2023, Resolution No. 18855
Revised: January 3, 2019, Resolution No. 18291
Revised: November 19, 2002, Resolution No. 16749
Effective Date: November 23, 1999, Resolution No. 16428
CNL POL
A06-405CP
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