CITY OF PACIFICA
COUNCIL AGENDA SUMMARY REPORT
12/8/2025
1 SUBJECT:
Selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor in Accordance with City Council Rules and Code of Ethics, Section 9
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
Move to select a Councilmember as new Mayor through December 2026 and a Councilmember as new Vice Mayor through December 2026 in accordance with Section 9 “Selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor” of the City Council Rules and Code of Ethics.
STAFF CONTACT:
Sarah Coffey, City Clerk
(650) 738-7307
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
Kevin Woodhouse, City Manager
(650) 738-7409
[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> BACKGROUND/DISCUSSION:
At the regular meeting of the City Council on October 27, 2025, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 94-2025 amending the City Council Rules and Code of Ethics to add guidelines for the annual selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor in Section 9. An excerpt of adopted City Council Rules and Code of Ethics with the relevant Section 9 is included as Attachment A.
Pursuant to Section 9, the goal of the policy is to encourage the rotation of Mayor and Vice Mayor positions to create a diverse and inclusive process for all the elected officials who represent the whole city.
General Process
Pursuant to Section 9-4, the City Clerk will inform eligible Councilmembers prior to the Agenda release of their eligibility for the Mayor / Vice Mayor positions based on the eligibility criteria set forth in the policy.
An eligible member may decline the nomination for any reason with no requirement to state a reason for declining the nomination; if declining, the member must make a statement on the dais prior to any motion being made and the declination cannot be rescinded. If declining the nomination, that member cannot be considered for nomination for the same role in the immediately following year. An eligible member may defer the nomination for any reason with no requirement to state a reason; if deferring, the member must make a statement on the dais prior to any motion being made and, once made, a deferral cannot be rescinded. A Councilmember may not defer the nomination two years in a row.
Prior to any vote on selection of Mayor or Vice Mayor, the City Council shall allow public Pacifica City Council 2
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comment, then shall deliberate on the appointment of Mayor or Vice Mayor, and a formal vote on the selection by majority vote of seated Councilmembers following a formal motion and second of the motion.
The current Mayor will preside as Chair over the process of selection of Mayor until a new Mayor is appointed. The newly selected Mayor will become the presiding Chair for the selection of the Vice Mayor. The selection of Vice Mayor will occur following the selection of Mayor.
Eligibility and Selection of Mayor
Pursuant to Section 9-2 “Eligibility Criteria for Mayor and Vice-Mayor” of the Council Rules and Code of Ethics, a member of the City Council will be eligible to be considered for Mayor if they have served as Vice Mayor in the preceding year.
If a Councilmember deferred the nomination for Mayor in the immediately preceding year, they may be considered for nomination in the subsequent year. If a Councilmember declined the nomination for Mayor in the immediately preceding year, they cannot be considered for nomination in the subsequent year.
There were no deferrals or declinations for Mayor in the immediately preceding year.
Based on the above, the following Councilmembers served as Vice Mayor in the preceding year and are eligible to be considered for the role of Mayor:
• Christine Boles (currently serving as Vice Mayor)
• Mary Bier (served as Mayor pro Tem Dec. 9, 2024 through February 10, 2025) Although eligible for Mayor according to the Council-adopted criteria, Councilmember Bier informed the City Manager and City Clerk, upon being informed of her eligibility, that while she is happy to be eligible, she would decline were she nominated. Mayor Beckmeyer as the presiding Chair will call for any Councilmember questions or statements by eligible Councilmembers, then will open Public Comments regarding selection of Mayor. Following close of Public Comments, Councilmembers will deliberate to reach a formal motion. The motion must be seconded. The Mayor will call for any further debate of the motion prior to calling for vote. A majority vote is required to approve the selection of Mayor.
Eligibility and Selection of Vice Mayor
Pursuant to Section 9-2 “Eligibility Criteria for Mayor and Vice-Mayor” of the Council Rules and Code of Ethics, a member of the City Council will be eligible to be considered for Vice Mayor if they have served at least 11 months on City Council and they are not serving in the final year of their second term on City Council.
If a Councilmember deferred the nomination for Vice Mayor in the immediately preceding year, they may be considered for this nomination in the subsequent year. If a Councilmember declined the nomination for Vice Mayor in the immediately preceding year, they cannot be considered for this nomination in the subsequent year.
There were no deferrals or declinations for Vice Mayor in the immediately preceding year.
Based on the above, the following Councilmembers have served at least 11 months on City Pacifica City Council 3
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Council and are not serving in the final year of their second term on City Council, thus are eligible to be considered for the role of Vice Mayor:
• Christine Boles
• Mayra Espinosa
• Greg Wright
Sue Beckmeyer and Mary Bier will be serving in the final year of their second term on City Council, so would not be eligible for consideration for Vice Mayor under this policy.
The newly selected Mayor will serve as the presiding Chair and will call for any Councilmember questions or statements by eligible Councilmembers, then will open Public Comments regarding selection of Vice Mayor. Following close of Public Comments, Councilmembers will deliberate to reach a formal motion. The motion must be seconded. The Mayor will call for any further debate of the motion prior to calling for vote. A majority vote is required to approve the selection of Vice Mayor.
ALTERNATIVE ACTION:
The City Council may decide to deviate from the rules set forth in Section 9 or the Council Rules and Code of Ethics, as summarized above, by a super-majority votes of the Councilmembers present.
FISCAL IMPACT:
There is no fiscal impact related to this item.
ORIGINATED BY:
City Clerk
ATTACHMENT LIST:
Attachment A: Excerpt from City Council Rules and Code of Ethics, including Section 9 “Selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor” (PDF)