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SECTION HISTORY
Amended by: Charter Amendment 1, approved March 3, 2015, effective April 2, 2015; Subsec. (c), Charter Amendment E, approved November 6, 2018, effective December 14, 2018.
Repealed by Charter Amendment DD, approved November 5, 2024, effective January 8, 2025.
(a) The Mayor, City Attorney, Controller and members of the Council shall hold their offices for a term of four years except as provided in subsection (b).
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of the Charter, in order to transition to new election dates starting in 2020, members of the Council elected in 2015 shall be elected for a term expiring in December 2020 and the Mayor, City Attorney, Controller and members of the Council elected in the year 2017 shall be elected for a term expiring in December 2022.
(c) The terms of office for those members of the Council from even-numbered districts shall commence during each fourth anniversary of the year 2020. The terms of office for the Mayor, City Attorney, Controller and those members of the Council elected from odd-numbered districts shall commence during each fourth anniversary of the year 2022. The term of an official elected to City office shall commence on the second Monday in December next following his or her election.
(d) Except where a vacancy in office is created pursuant to Section 207, the incumbents of the elected and appointed offices shall hold office until their successors have qualified.
SECTION HISTORY
Amended by: Charter Amendment 1, approved March 3, 2015, effective April 2, 2015; Charter Amendment DD, approved November 5, 2024, effective January 8, 2025.
No person may serve more than two terms of office as Mayor. No person may serve more than two terms of office as City Attorney. No person may serve more than two terms of office as Controller. No person may serve more than three terms of office as member of the City Council. These limitations on the number of terms of office shall apply only to terms of office that began on or after July 1, 1993. These limitations on the number of terms of office shall not apply to any unexpired term to which a person is elected or appointed if the remainder of the term is less than one-half of the full term of office. For purposes of this Section, the term of office of officials elected in 2015 and 2017 as described in Section 205(b) shall count as one term.
SECTION HISTORY
Amended by: Charter Amendment, approved November 7, 2006, effective December 13, 2006; Charter Amendment 1, approved March 3, 2015, effective April 2, 2015.
An office becomes vacant when:
(a) the incumbent dies, retires, resigns, is adjudged insane, pleads guilty or no contest to or is convicted of a felony, is removed from office or fails to qualify within ten days from the time he or she receives his or her certificate of election or appointment;
(b) the incumbent ceases to be a registered voter or resident of the City, where being a registered voter or City residency is a qualification for the office;
(c) the incumbent is convicted of an offense involving a violation of official duties, including, without limitation, a violation of the conflict of interest and government ethics provisions of the Charter or City ordinances. However, removal from office for violating conflict of interest or governmental ethics provisions shall be required only if a court determines that the seriousness of the offense and degree of culpability of the officer so warrant;
(d) the incumbent has been absent from the City without the consent of the Council for more than 60 consecutive days. Absence from the City of the incumbent of an elected office shall be deemed to be with the consent of the Council if the absence was caused by illness, injury or other reason, and if the incumbent could not reasonably have been expected to have returned to the City under the circumstances;
(e) the incumbent of an elected office, or the Chief of Police has ceased to discharge the duties of the office for 90 consecutive days, except when prevented by illness, injury, or other reasonable cause; or
(f) the incumbent of an elected office, or the Chief of Police is found by a court to be incapacitated according to the criteria contained in Section 208.
(a) For purposes of Section 207(f), an elected office and the office of Chief of Police become vacant when, in a quo warranto action or other applicable proceeding as may be established by state law, a court has found that:
(1) the incumbent is physically or mentally incapacitated due to illness, injury or other reason such that he or she cannot perform the duties of the office;
(2) the incumbent was so incapacitated for at least 90 consecutive days prior to the filing of the application with the Office of the California Attorney General for leave to sue in quo warranto or, if the application was not legally required, any other act commencing litigation under this subsection; and
(3) there is reasonable cause to believe that the incumbent will not be able to perform the duties of the office for the remainder of the term of office.
(b) If the City Clerk, after investigation, has reason to believe that all of the conditions set forth in subsection (a) exist, the City Clerk, on behalf of the City, shall initiate, or cause to be initiated, litigation by filing an application for leave to sue in quo warranto with the Office of the California Attorney General or by following any other applicable procedure as may be established by state law. Litigation under this section, in quo warranto or as otherwise provided by state law, may also be brought by any person authorized to do so by state law.
All elected officials of the City are expected to conform to the highest standards of personal and professional conduct. The Council shall have the power to adopt, by a two-thirds vote, a resolution of censure with respect to any member of the Council whose actions constitute a gross failure to meet such high standards, even if the action does not constitute a ground for removal from office under the Charter.
The City Controller, City Attorney, Treasurer, City Clerk and City Administrative Officer shall each designate an assistant or deputy, who shall become the acting incumbent in case of any vacancy in the office. The designation of acting incumbent shall be made in writing filed with the City Clerk, and may be changed from time to time. Upon a vacancy, the acting incumbent shall serve until the office is filled in accordance with Sections 409, 508(b) or 508(c). Any person so designated must possess the qualifications prescribed for the office and shall take the oath prescribed by the Charter before assuming his or her duties as acting incumbent. If a vacancy in the office occurs, and no acting incumbent has been designated, or if the designated acting incumbent is unable to serve, the Council may designate the acting incumbent for the office.
SECTION HISTORY
Amended by: Charter Amendment II, approved November 5, 2024, effective January 8, 2025.
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