SELECTION OF MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR [DRAFT POLICY 2025]
PURPOSE
The purpose of this policy is to establish a transparent, fair, and predictable system for the annual selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor. The policy will ensure district representation and leadership development within the constraints of Councilmember term limits and district-based elections.
BACKGROUND
● City Council Composition: 5 members elected by district ● District-Based Elections: On December 17, 2018, the City Council of the City of Pacifica adopted Ordinance No. 839-C.S., establishing a district-based system for election of members of the City Council by five districts, establishing the boundaries and identification number of each district and establishing the election order of each district.
By this action, the City of Pacifica changed from an at-large election system to a districtbased election system for the election of City Council members. The City held its first district election in November 2020, with Districts 1 and 4, electing Councilmembers to represent those districts. The second district election took place in November 2022, with Districts 2, 3 and 5.
● District Election Cycle:
○ First year of District-Based Elections: 2020
○ Every four years starting from 2020 (e.g., 2020, 2024, 2028): Districts 1, 4 ○ Every four years starting from 2022 (e.g., 2022, 2026, 2030): Districts 2, 3, 5 ● Mayor/Vice Mayor Selection: The City Council of the City of Pacifica selects the Mayor and Vice Mayor among its membership annually at the first regular or special meeting in December.
● Councilmember Term Limits: Pursuant to PMC Section 2-8.04, “No person who has served two (2) terms of office as a Pacifica City Councilmember shall be eligible to run for election as a Pacifica City Councilmember. If for any reason a person serves a partial term as [a] Pacifica City Councilmember in excess of two (2) years, that partial term shall be considered a full term for purposes of this term limit provision.”
1. POLICY
Timeline: The City Council of the City of Pacifica selects the Mayor and Vice Mayor among its membership annually at the first regular or special meeting in December.
Selection of Mayor: The City Council will nominate and select the Vice Mayor as Mayor, unless the Vice Mayor declines or defers the nomination.
Selection of Vice Mayor: The City Council will nominate and select a Councilmember as Vice Mayor according to the eligibility and selection criteria detailed in this policy, unless the Councilmember declines or defers the nomination.
Confirmation of Mayor and Vice Mayor: Any Councilmember will make a motion to nominate the Councilmember (in accordance with the eligibility and selection criteria detailed in this policy) for Mayor or Vice Mayor. The motion will require another Councilmember to second it. A majority vote by City Council is required to officially confirm the Mayor or Vice Mayor selection.
SELECTION OF MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR [DRAFT POLICY 2025]
Transparency and Public Notice: This policy shall be made public and accessible on the City of Pacifica’s official website. The policy may be reviewed and revised in a public meeting at the discretion of the City Council.
A. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR MAYOR
(See Section 2-A. “Special Circumstances – Eligibility Criteria for Mayor”) B. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR VICE MAYOR
A Councilmember will be eligible to serve as Vice Mayor if they meet the following criteria:
• Served at least 1 year on the City of Pacifica City Council.
A Councilmember will be ineligible to serve as Vice Mayor if they meet the following criteria:
• Serving in the final year of their second full term and/or • Served as Mayor or Vice Mayor in the past three (3) years.
Question for Council: What is the length of time to be considered ineligible to serve as Vice Mayor?
• Served as Mayor or Vice Mayor in the past three (3) years. • Served as Mayor or Vice Mayor in the past four (4) years.
SELECTION OF MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR [DRAFT POLICY 2025]
C. SELECTION METHOD FOR VICE MAYOR
Question for Council: Review and advise which method, or which portions of each method, should be incorporated. • District Rotation
• Public Drawing (Based on Eligibility Criteria for Vice Mayor) a. District Rotation: The Vice Mayor shall be selected
annually in a district-based sequence to ensure equity and regional representation.
The selection of Vice Mayor shall abide by the following order of districts: 4 → 1 → 3 → 5 → 2 → (cycle repeats)
In any year, if the Councilmember from the referenced district is ineligible to serve as Vice Mayor, the next eligible
Councilmember in the district rotation shall be nominated as Vice Mayor.
Sample of City of Pacifica Mayor and Vice Mayor Rotation Timeline (2024–2035)
Year Selected Vice Mayor (District) Mayor (District)
Dec. 2024 District 2 District 5
Dec. 2025 District 4 District 2
Dec. 2026 District 1 District 4
Dec. 2027 District 3 District 1
Dec. 2028 District 5 District 3
Dec. 2029 District 2 District 5
Dec. 2030 District 4 District 2
Dec. 2031 District 1 District 4
Dec. 2032 District 3 District 1
Dec. 2033 District 5 District 3
Dec. 2034 District 2 District 5
Dec. 2035 District 4 District 2
b. Public Drawing: In cases where there is more than one eligible Councilmember for Vice Mayor, a public drawing will be held.
i. The City Clerk will confirm all eligible
Councilmembers.
ii. The name of each eligible Councilmember will be
written on a slip of paper and placed in a container.
iii. A neutral party, such as the City Clerk, will
randomly select one name from the container.
iv. The selected Councilmember will be nominated as
the next Vice Mayor.
In cases where there is no eligible Councilmember for Vice Mayor, or all eligible Councilmembers decline or defer the nomination, a public drawing will be held with all
Councilmember names, excluding the current Vice Mayor.
SELECTION OF MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR [DRAFT POLICY 2025]
2. SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES
The following sections are intended to address circumstances that may differ from the standard process for the selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor.
A. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR MAYOR
A Councilmember will be eligible to serve as Mayor if they meet the following criteria:
• Served at least 1 year on the City Council and
• Served as Vice Mayor in the preceding year.
A Councilmember will be ineligible to serve as Mayor if they meet the following criteria:
• Served as Mayor or Vice Mayor in the past three (3) years.
Question for Council: What is the length of time to be considered ineligible to serve as Mayor? • Served as Mayor or Vice Mayor in the past three (3) years. • Served as Mayor or Vice Mayor in the past four (4) years.
If the Vice Mayor declines or defers the nomination for Mayor, and all other Councilmembers are ineligible or decline or defer the nomination for Mayor, then a Councilmember who has previously served as the Mayor may be considered eligible to serve as Mayor again.
B. VACANCIES AND PARTIAL TERMS
If there is a vacancy for Mayor during their year of service, the Vice Mayor will serve as the Mayor in the interim. The Vice Mayor shall serve as Mayor until the City Council appoints a new Mayor in accordance with this policy.
If there is a vacancy for Vice Mayor during their year of service, the City Council shall appoint a new Vice Mayor in accordance with this policy.
If a Councilmember is elected or appointed to serve a partial term, they are ineligible to serve as Mayor or Vice Mayor during the first year of the partial term.
C. EXCEPTIONS TO TIMELINE
The City Council may occasionally select a new Mayor or Vice Mayor outside of the annual process as a result of vacancies or City Council discretion.
D. DECLINING NOMINATIONS
Question for Council: If the Vice Mayor declines the nomination for Mayor, should the City Council review eligibility of Councilmembers for Vice Mayor or for Mayor? SELECTION OF MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR [DRAFT POLICY 2025]
• If the Vice Mayor declines the nomination for Mayor, the City Council will review the eligibility for Vice Mayor and nominate a Mayor from any Councilmember who is eligible to serve as Mayor for the following year.
• If the Vice Mayor declines the nomination for Mayor, the City Council will review the eligibility for Mayor and nominate a Mayor from any Councilmember who is eligible to serve as Mayor for the following year.
If a Councilmember declines the nomination for Vice Mayor, the City Council will review the eligibility for Vice Mayor and nominate a Vice Mayor from any Councilmember who is eligible to serve as Vice Mayor for the following year.
Question for Council: What process should be included in “Declining Nominations”? • The Councilmember who chooses to decline their nomination will become the next eligible Councilmember for the applicable role in the following year (or “top of the cycle”). • The Councilmember who chooses to decline their nomination will become the last eligible Councilmember for the applicable role in the following year (or “bottom of the cycle”).
• The Councilmember who chooses to decline their nomination as Vice Mayor may be considered eligible for the following public drawing for the selection of Vice Mayor.
Declinations for the Mayor or Vice Mayor roles may not be rescinded.
E. DEFERRING NOMINATIONS
If a Councilmember chooses to defer their nomination for personal, professional, or other reasons, the next eligible Councilmember will be nominated for Vice Mayor or Mayor.
Question for Council: What process should be included in “Deferring Nominations”? • The Councilmember who chooses to defer their nomination will become the next eligible Councilmember for the applicable role in the following year (or “top of the cycle”). • The Councilmember who chooses to defer their nomination will become the last eligible Councilmember for the applicable role in the following year (or “bottom of the cycle”). • The Councilmember who chooses to defer their nomination as Vice Mayor may be considered eligible for the following public drawing for the selection of Vice Mayor.
Deferrals for the Mayor or Vice Mayor roles may not be rescinded.
F. EXCEPTIONAL SCENARIOS
SELECTION OF MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR [DRAFT POLICY 2025]
Question for Council: Review the following exceptional scenarios and advise how City Council should proceed under the applicable selection method.
MULTIPLE ELIGIBLE COUNCILMEMBERS
If multiple new Councilmembers are elected in the same year and are eligible to serve as Vice Mayor after 1 year of service,
• The City Council follows district rotation (i.e. District 3 → 5 → 2) moving to the next district in the rotation in cases of ineligibility, declination, or deferral. • The City Council holds a public drawing for the selection of Vice Mayor following review of eligibility of all Councilmembers, excluding Councilmembers who indicate declination or deferral.
NO ELIGIBLE COUNCILMEMBERS FOR MAYOR
If no Councilmember is eligible to serve as Mayor for the following year, • The City Council follows district rotation, moving to the next district in the rotation in cases of declination or deferral.
• The City Council holds public drawings for the selection of Mayor and the selection of Vice Mayor, excluding Councilmembers who indicate declination or deferral.
VICE MAYOR IN LAST YEAR OF FIRST TERM
A Councilmember may be eligible to serve as Vice Mayor in the final year of their first partial or full term. If a Councilmember serves as Vice Mayor in the final year of the first term, and they are not re-elected,
• The City Council follows district rotation, moving to the next district in the rotation in cases of eligibility, declination, or deferral.
• The City Council holds public drawings for the selection of Mayor and the selection of Vice Mayor following review of eligibility of all Councilmembers, excluding Councilmembers who indicate declination or deferral.
CONSECUTIVE YEARS AS VICE MAYOR OR MAYOR
If the Vice Mayor declines the nomination to serve as Mayor and wishes to remain as Vice Mayor for the following year,
• The Vice Mayor may not remain as Vice Mayor for consecutive years due to ineligibility (see Section 1-B), declination (see Section 2-D), or deferral (see Section 2-E). • The Vice Mayor may be considered eligible in the public drawing for selection of Vice Mayor.
SELECTION OF MAYOR AND VICE MAYOR [DRAFT POLICY 2025]
• If all other Councilmembers are ineligible or decline or defer the nomination for Vice Mayor, the Vice Mayor may remain as Vice Mayor for the following year.
If the Mayor wishes to remain as Mayor for the following year, • The Mayor may not remain as Mayor for consecutive years due to ineligibility (see Section 2-A).
• If all other Councilmembers are ineligible or decline or defer the nomination for Mayor, the Mayor may remain as Mayor for the following year. (See Section 2-A.) G. CONFIRMATION OF MAYOR OR VICE MAYOR (FAILED MOTIONS) If a motion fails or a majority vote is not achieved, then the City Council will continue to make a motion to nominate the Councilmember (in accordance with the eligibility and selection criteria detailed in this policy) for Mayor or Vice Mayor until there is a majority vote.
H. DIVERGING FROM POLICY (REQUIRES SUPERMAJORITY VOTE)
The City Council may choose to differ from the Policy by a 4/5 supermajority vote.
Question for Council: Does the 4/5 supermajority vote apply to diverging only or to diverging and selecting a new Mayor / Vice Mayor?
• The City Council may choose to differ from the Policy and select any Councilmember as Mayor or Vice Mayor by a 4/5 supermajority vote (may be one or separate motions). • The City Council may choose to differ from the Policy by a 4/5 supermajority vote. The City Council may then select any Councilmember as Mayor or Vice Mayor by a majority vote.