1 ORDINANCE NO.____________
AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GLENDALE,
CALIFORNIA AMENDING SECTION 2.04.020 OF THE GLENDALE
MUNICIPAL CODE, 1995, RELATING TO MAYORAL SELECTION PROCESS WHEREAS, the City of Glendale (City) Councilmembers are elected at-large and serve four-year terms; and
WHEREAS, in April of each year, the City Council appoints one of its own members to serve as Mayor for the following year, pursuant to the City’s Charter, Article IV, Section 5(4); and
WHEREAS, on March 30, 2021, after having considered a staff report wherein 134 municipalities were surveyed relating to best practices governing procedures for the selection of Mayor, the City Council adopted Ordinance 5963 amending Glendale Municipal Code, 1995 (“GMC”) Section 2.04.020, establishing criteria and procedures to be considered and followed by the City Council in selecting a Mayor each year; and WHEREAS, on July 1, 2025, after considering various alternatives, the City Council directed that the City Attorney prepare an ordinance to amend GMC Section 2.04.020 to:
Eliminate the provisions pertaining to order of precedence of mayoral selection contained in subsections B through H.
Revise the date of mayoral selection from April to July, with options for the effective date of the new July selection date.
Provide for the seating and appointment of the mayor to be effective at the first regular meeting after the council meeting where the Council selects the new mayor; and
WHEREAS, the City Council has considered the reports dated July 1, 2025 and August 19, 2025 by the City Attorney presenting the above as directed by Council, and by this Ordinance amends the provisions of Glendale Municipal Code, 1995 (GMC) Section
2.04.020 relating to the Mayor selection process.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GLENDALE:
SECTION 1. The above recitals are true and correct.
SECTION 2. Section 2.04.020 of the Glendale Municipal Code, 1995, regarding Selection of mayor, is hereby amended to read as follows:
2 “2.04.020 Selection of Mayor
Pursuant to Article VI, Section 5(4) of the Charter, the council shall annually select one of its members to be the mayor, in accordance with the procedures set forth herein.
The date and times for appointment shall be during the first regular meeting of the council after the first Monday in April of each year. The mayor shall serve as presiding officer and perform the other duties of mayor at the pleasure of the council. [July selection – Option 1: July selection commences in 2026] A. Commencing in 2026, the date and time for selection of the mayor shall be during the first regular meeting of the council occurring after the third Monday of July of each year.
[July selection – Option 2: July selection commences in 2027] A. In 2026, the date and time for the selection of the mayor shall be during the first regular meeting of the council occurring after the first Monday in April.
Commencing in 2027, the date and time for selection of the mayor shall be during the first regular meeting of the council occurring after the third Monday of July of each year.
B. The appointment of the mayor shall become effective and the mayor’s term shall commence at the next regular meeting occurring after the council meeting where the council selects the new mayor.”
B. The council shall select and appoint a mayor to serve for the upcoming year in the following order of precedence:
1. The councilmember with the longest, continuous uninterrupted service on the council since last serving as mayor, and who is not serving as the mayor at the time of mayoral selection, shall be selected as mayor.
2. In the event of a tie between councilmembers with the longest continuous service since last serving as mayor as set forth in subsection (B)(1), the councilmember who received the most votes in the councilmembers' most recent election shall be selected mayor. In the event the tie is between councilmembers who were elected during different elections, then the councilmember with the highest percentage of votes received in each councilmembers' most recent elections to the city council shall be selected mayor.
Notwithstanding the election votes tiebreakers set forth in this subsection (B)(2), if either tiebreaker would result in a councilmember who has previously served as mayor since being elected to the council being appointed over a councilmember of equal continuous uninterrupted service who has never served as mayor since being elected to the council, then the councilmember who has not previously served as mayor shall be appointed mayor. 3 3. In the event that the procedure set forth in subsections (B)(1) and (2) do not control the selection of mayor, the council shall select the mayor by majority vote.
C. A councilmember whose council term will expire in the same year that the mayor's term would also expire if said councilmember was selected mayor shall not be selected to serve as mayor. A councilmember whose council term will expire within 180 days after the date of the selection of the mayor shall not be selected mayor.
D. A councilmember who has served as a mayor shall not be appointed mayor for the immediately subsequent term, unless all other councilmembers decline to serve.
E. If a councilmember is in line to be selected mayor in accordance with the procedures of this section but is unable or unwilling to serve as mayor at the time of selection, then the council shall select the next councilmember in line and the councilmember who is unwilling or unable to be the mayor shall be placed next in line for mayoral appointment under the procedure in subsection (B)(2).
F. If a councilmember who is serving as mayor vacates or is removed from the mayoral position or from his or her council position, the council may fill the vacancy of mayor by selecting and appointing any councilmember to fill said unexpired term. The councilmember selected pursuant to this subsection shall not be prejudiced or prevented from serving a scheduled term pursuant to the provisions of this section.
G. A councilmember appointed to the council to fill a vacancy in accordance with Article VI, Section 13 of the Charter shall not serve as mayor during such appointed term unless there is no available alternative. Under circumstances with no available alternatives, the appointed councilmember(s) having served the longest in such temporary capacity shall serve as mayor in accordance with the provisions set forth in this chapter.
H. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, in the event the council determines in its discretion that it is in the best interest of the city not to appoint the councilmember next in line to serve as mayor in accordance with the procedure of this section, including, but not limited to, because of reason of mental or physical incapacity significantly limiting the ability to perform mayoral duties or a criminal conviction, then the council may appoint the next qualified councilmember pursuant to subsection (B)(2) to serve as mayor.
SECTION 3. Compliance with California Environmental Quality Act.
The City Council finds and determines that this ordinance is not subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), because it is an organizational and administrative activity related to the City government structure that will not result in direct or indirect physical changes in the environment and is therefore not a “project” pursuant to Section 15378(b)(5) of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations (the CEQA Guidelines) 4 SECTION 4. Severability.
This Ordinance is adopted under the authority of the Charter of the City of Glendale and State law. If any section, subsection, clause or phrase is declared invalid or otherwise void by a court of competent jurisdiction, it shall not affect any remaining provision hereof. In this regard the city council finds and declares that it would have adopted this measure notwithstanding any partial invalidity hereof.
SECTION 5. Effective Date.
This Ordinance shall take effect and be in force thirty (30) days after the date of its adoption.
Passed and adopted by the Council of the City of Glendale on the ___ day of ________, 2025.
_____________________________
Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________
City Clerk
5 STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) SS.
CITY OF GLENDALE )
I, Suzie Abajian, PhD, City Clerk of the city of Glendale, certify that the foregoing Ordinance No. ___________ was passed by a majority vote of the Council of the city of Glendale, California, at a regular meeting held on the _____ day of __________, 2025, and that the same was passed by the followed vote.
Ayes:
Noes:
Absent:
Abstain:
______________________________
City Clerk