APPENDIX 1
Selection of Mayor and Vice Mayor/Council Reorganization This appendix addresses the selection and rotation of the roles of Mayor and Vice Mayor.
As set forth in the most updated City Council Handbook, the Vice-Mayor is usually selected as the Mayor. The City Council believes the community benefits and is represented by ensuring the positions of Mayor and Vice-Mayor are held at various times by all council members who represent five distinct districts within the City. The City Council also believes the experience as a council member will assist those who ultimately serve as Mayor or Vice-Mayor. To that end, the following process is hereby adopted for the future selection of Mayor and Vice-Mayor. This process will remain in effect until until it is modified reviewed and modified by a new composition of City council or a subsequent elected City Council.
Commencing at the end of the present Mayor’s term, the Vice-Mayor will become Mayor and the most senior council member who has not within the previous three (3) years served as Mayor or Vice-Mayor, will serve as Vice-Mayor. The member should have at least one year serving and having completed to become Vice Mayor. The member should have two years serving and having completed to become Mayor. This process for selection will also apply in subsequent years, provided that a council member will first become eligible for service as Mayor or Vice-Mayor once the Councilmember has served for two (2) years.
In the event new council members are elected in the same year, the ranking of the newly elected council members amongst themselves will be determined by several factors. All of these need to be heavily weighted before any rotational order is created.
1. First, the number of votes received to the lowest received does not work as council now is elected district-elections and not city-wide.
2. Second, there may be members who have 1 or more opponents running against the incumbent which separates out the vote count when compared to an incumbent who runs unopposed.
3. The District composition and number of registered voters should be a factor, as some districts will have a lower turn out than others where majority of resident’s vote.
4. District seats for Districts 2 and District 4, which are held on presidential election years will constitute a higher voter turnout and off-year elections when Districts 1, District 3 and District 5 are held.
5. The fair and equal representation from Districts that have not had a representative as vice mayor or mayor in the last 3 years should precede the above factors in order to ensure that each city elected district has representation in the roles of vice mayor and mayor. in the order of the highest number of votes received to the lowest number. If any council member declines a nomination during a year when they would have been eligible to be appointed as Mayor or Vice-Mayor, the next eligible council member, that adheres to the factors above in sequence shall be nominated for that position, exception by agreement between two Councilmember and Council vote. Rotation should complete for all councilmembers.. The council member that declined the nomination will then move to the bottom of the rotational order as if they had just completed serving a year as Mayor.
APPENDIX 1
In the event of a vacancy, either by resignation, death, illness or legal repercussions, the role will be filled by the rotation of order. No new elected or appointed member may hold the position or vice or mayor until it has completed the set timeframe as described above.
Based on Councilmember Addiego’s appointment as Mayor on December 9, 2020, and assuming all current council members are re-elected, Tthe succession according to the current policy would be as follows:
Year Mayor Vice-Mayor
2021-2022 Nagales Nicolas
2022-2023 Nicolas Nagales
2023-2024 Nagales Coleman
2024-2025 Coleman FloresAddiego
2025-2026 FloresAddiego AddiegoFlores
The election of the Mayor and Vice -Mayor shall be by vote of a majority of members of the City Council. The Mayor shall be seated and assume the duties of presiding officer immediately following the election of Mayor and before the election of the Vice Mayor unless a motion is carried to elect and seat the Mayor and Vice Mayor at the same time.
The mayoral rotation system can be changed at any time by a Council majority vote.
The council reorganization and election of the mayor and vice mayor should be held and occur prior to any other official city council meeting occurring in the month of December and before any agenda item is considered in any special or regular meeting, this includes appointments or elections or motions or votes on any legislative or policy making matter.
The planning details and agenda of the reorganization special meeting, including the program will be coordinated by the City Manager and its office or its designee and overseen by the current vice mayor along with a member of council who is not up for election that current year.
The meeting shall occur at a public meeting space in South San Francisco, large enough to accommodate members of the public who wish to attend.
There are several problems with the current rotation. First, the districts that have a higher proportion of immigrants, people of color, renters, and low income residents will always have lower voter turnout and thus a lower number of votes. In addition to this, districts that are held in midterm election years will always have a lower number of votes than those elected in general election years.
There is also the issue of council members that are elected through uncontested elections always naturally having a higher vote count than those who run and win in contested elections. Also, councilmembers who run against multiple candidates will naturally have lower vote counts than those who run against one candidate.
Here are some proposals to change our rotational policy to make it more equitable.
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Option A: Members are rotated in order of the district number they represent. With the advent of district elections, it is important to ensure that every district has an equal chance at representation through the Mayorship.
In the event of new councilmembers being elected and beginning their term on their district’s “mayor year,” it will be required for any new council member to start their first year as Councilmember, then the subsequent year as Vice Mayor, and the third year as Mayor. The order will temporarily skip that district’s new councilmember to the next in line, until that new council member is in their third year, where they will have some experience that allows them to serve more effectively. The order will resume itself following the temporary displacement. This will allow for newly elected council members to gain experience instead of immediately assuming the Mayor role. A councilmember does not have to be Vice Mayor the year immediately preceding their Mayoral year.
For example: a regular District 1 councilmember through this order will serve as Mayor in Y1 and Y6. A NEW D1 councilmember is Mayor in Y3 and Y6… because if the District 1 council member is new, they will serve as such in the following years:
Y1: Councilmember (new council member assumes office, D2 Mayor) Y2: Vice Mayor (D3 Mayor)
Y3: Mayor
Y4: Councilmember (order resumes, D4 Mayor)
Y5: Vice Mayor (D5 Mayor)
Y6: Mayor
Under this policy, the order would be:
2021 D1: Mayor Addiego, VM Nagales
2022 D2: Mayor Nagales, VM Nicolas
2023 D3: Mayor Nicolas, VM Coleman
2024 D4: Mayor Coleman, VM Flores
2025 D5: Mayor Flores, VM Addiego
2026 D1: Mayor Addiego, VM Nagales
Option B: Members are rotated by seniority, but rather than going in order of vote total, the order would be determined by:
% of votes earned by the winning candidate - (100 / total number of candidates) This would allow candidates who earned a larger proportion of votes and performed better than if every voter voted randomly. This also removes the influence of voter turnout in the Mayoral rotation.
2020:
Nagales = 100 - (100 / 1) = 0
Coleman = 52 - (100 / 2) = 2
2022:
Nicolas = 100 - (100 / 1) = 0
Addiego = 66 - (100 / 2) = 16
Flores = 54 - (100 / 3) = 21
APPENDIX 1
Under this policy, the order would be:
2021: Mayor Addiego, VM Nagales
2022: Mayor Nagales, VM Nicolas
2023: Mayor Nicolas, VM Coleman
2024: Mayor Coleman, VM Nagales
2025: Mayor Nagales, VM Flores
2026: Mayor Flores, VM Addiego
2027: Mayor Addiego, VM Nicolas
Installation and Reorganization Costs
Council members shall contribute to the cost of light snacks/deserts and refreshments for the reception following the Installation and Reorganization Meeting. Each council member’s contribution shall not exceed $200. During any year in which the City Treasurer and City Clerk are up for election, the City Clerk and City Treasurer shall each contribute up to $200 for the cost of light snacks/deserts and refreshments for the reception following the Installation and Reorganization Meeting. The incoming Mayor may choose to separately pay for additional snacks and refreshmentsincidentals beyond those normally provided every year.
The reorganization meeting should be a special meeting and no other action or business item or presentation will/shall take place unless by approval of the entire council and councilmember-elect members.
Formal invitations to the installation and reorganization will be created by the City Manager’s Office free of charge to the elected members. Each member being sworn in or installed will receive a predetermined number of invitations to distribute. The cost of mailing will be covered by the City Manager’s Office. The City Manager’s office will also create a graphic invite to publicize and invite members of the public, via social media and/or other communication channels.
Recognition of Outgoing Mayor and/or Council MembersElected Officials The Installation and Reorganization Meeting will also include recognition of the outgoing Mayor and any outgoing council member(s) or City Treasurer or City Clerk . As part of the recognition, the City may provide the outgoing Mayor elected members and any outgoing council member(s) with a nominal gift, proclamation and plaque recognizing their time of service to the City.
Swearing in of Mayor, Vice Mayor and newly or re-elected members:
All members elected or re-elected to the city will be ceremonially sworn-in at the installation/reorganization meeting unless there is a declared state of emergency that requires this to take virtually or in other form. The City Clerk shall work with each member to be sworn in to ensure proper legal compliance exists of those who will be executing the oath of office.