Fremont City Council Meeting: 03/18/25 07:00 PM
3300 Capitol Avenue Div/Dept: City Clerk's Office
Fremont, CA 94538 Category: Council Referrals & Appointments
SCHEDULED
Sponsors:
COUNCIL STAFF REPORT (ID # 5228) DOC ID: 5228
Updated: 3/17/2025 3:10 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 1
SELECTION OF THE VICE MAYOR - Selection of the Vice Mayor for the Period Covering March 2025 through November 2025
Contact Persons:
Name: Susan Gauthier Allen DeMers
Title: City Clerk Deputy City Manager
Div/Dept: City Clerk's Office City Manager's Office
Phone: 510-284-4076 510-494-4651
E-Mail: [email protected] [email protected]
Executive Summary: The following report is being presented to the City Council to seek direction with regard to the appointment of the Vice Mayor for the period covering March 2025 through November 2025. This requested Council action will establish rules to address how the vice mayor is appointed when one of the Councilmembers is appointed to the City Council rather than elected. The Council’s action will be codified so that the new rule can be applied in the future if a similar circumstance arises.
BACKGROUND: Chapter 1, Section F (2) of the City Council Handbook of Rules and Procedures (Vice Mayor Selection and Duties) provides: “The Councilmember who received the highest number of votes during the previous general municipal election shall be appointed Vice Mayor for the first eight months following the next general municipal election. The Councilmember who received the second highest number of votes during the previous general municipal election shall be appointed Vice Mayor for the next eight months.
The Councilmember who received the third highest number of votes during the previous general municipal election shall be appointed Vice Mayor for the next eight months.”
DISCUSSION/ANALYSYS: The City Council Handbook of Rules and Procedures does not address or provide direction regarding appointing a Councilmember to the position of vice mayor who has been appointed to the office of City Councilmember but was not elected.
Per the order of selection of a vice mayor described above, former Councilmember Jenny Kassan would have been next in line for appointment as vice mayor for the period covering March 2025 through November 2025, as she received the third highest number of votes during the 2022 general municipal election.
Chapter 1, Section F (3) of the City Council Handbook of Rules and Procedures (Order of Selection Upon Vacancy) provides: “If a vacancy occurs in an office of a Councilmember, the order of selection pursuant to the above section shall be modified if necessary, as follows:
If the vacancy is in the office of a Councilmember and is the incumbent Vice Mayor, then the Councilmember who was the last previous Vice Mayor shall be appointed Vice Mayor for the remainder of that eight month term. If the vacancy is in the office of a Councilmember who has not yet served as Vice Mayor during his or her term of office, then the Councilmembers next in the order of selection pursuant to the above section shall each have their appointment as Vice Mayor advanced, notwithstanding that as the result of such vacancy or prior or future vacancies, the order of selection will be modified with the effect that a Council Staff Report (ID # 5228) Meeting of March 18, 2025 Updated: 3/17/2025 3:10 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 2
subsequent Vice Mayor will be only in the second or first year of his or her term of office as a Councilmember.”
Additionally, Chapter 1, Section F (4) of the City Council Handbook of Rules and Procedures (Other Instances) provides: “In the event a situation occurs, resulting from a vacancy in an office of a Councilmember, which is not addressed in these rules, the City Council shall promptly consider what revision to the rules, if any, are necessary prior to the appointment of the Vice Mayor.”
The City Council has the authority to appoint any member of the council to serve as vice mayor. The City Council may explore options including, but not limited to, advancing the order of selection by appointing the Councilmember that would have served as vice mayor following former Councilmember Kassan, extending the current vice mayor’s term, or selecting the recently appointed council member to serve as vice mayor. Each option is equally valid to resolve the current vacancy.
FISCAL IMPACT: N/A
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW: N/A
RECOMMENDATIONS: By motion, select a council member to serve as Vice Mayor for the period covering March 2025 through November 2025, based upon the following recommended options:
1. Option A: Select the Council member that would have followed the former Councilmember’s (in this case former Councilmember Kassan) turn as vice mayor in the order of selection and advance the appointment schedule for future vice mayors accordingly. This option would result in the selection of Councilmember Keng and would advance the normal order of selection by one term. This selection process will be memorialized by resolution when the City Council Handbook is revised this year.
2. Option B: Select the councilmember (in this case Councilmember Kimberlin) that has been appointed to the vacant seat that would have been next in line to serve as Vice Mayor. In this scenario, the regular order of vice mayorship appointments would resume following the appointed councilmember’s term as vice mayor.
3. Option C: Extend the term of the current vice mayor (in this case Vice Mayor Campbell) by eight months and continue to use the pre-established order of vice mayorship selection.
Council Staff Report (ID # 5228) Meeting of March 18, 2025 Updated: 3/17/2025 3:10 PM by Susan Gauthier Page 3
Chart for each option, showing the future appointments for each period:
Vice Mayor
Term
Order of Vice
Mayor
Selection
(Option A)
Order of Vice
Mayor
Selection
(Option B)
Order of Vice
Mayor Selection
(Option C) Notes
March 2025 -
November 2025 Teresa Keng Kathy Kimberlin Desrie Campbell Third highest
number of votes
in 2022 election.
(fourth year of
term)
November 2025
- July 2026 Yajing Zhang Teresa Keng Teresa Keng
Highest number
of votes in 2024
election. (second
year of term)
July 2026 –
March 2027 Raymond Liu Yajing Zhang Yajing Zhang
Second highest
number of votes
in 2024 election.
(third year of
term)
March 2027 -
November 2027
Councilmember
with highest
number of votes
in 2026 election. Raymond Liu Raymond Liu
Third highest
number of votes
in 2024 election.
(fourth year of
term)
November 2027
- July 2028
Councilmember
with second
highest number
of votes in 2026
election. 2026 election 2026 election
Highest number
of votes in 2026
election. (second
year of term)
July 2028 –
March 2029
Councilmember
with third highest
number of votes
in 2026 election. 2026 election 2026 election
Second highest
number of votes
in 2026 election.
(third year of
term)
March 2029 –
November 2029
Councilmember
with highest
number of votes
in 2028 election. 2026 election 2026 election
Third highest
number of votes
in 2026 election.
(fourth year of
term)