Palo Alto begins process that would give voters power to choose mayor

If passed, Palo Alto would be the latest city in the region after Sunnyvale to change the way it votes for mayor.

Voters in Palo Alto may soon be able to elect their mayor directly.

In a City Council meeting earlier this week, members began the process that would put amendments to the city’s charter on the 2024 ballot, letting voters choose their own mayor for either a two- or four-year term.

Councilors voted 5-2 to direct city staff to work on proposed amendments, which, once finalized by the City Council, would be put up for a vote in the upcoming November election.

Under its current charter, Palo Alto residents directly elect a seven-member council. The council then chooses a mayor among themselves to lead the city for a one-year term. A city manager oversees the local government’s day-to-day affairs.

Traditionally, the Palo Alto City Council chooses the vice mayor to take over as the next mayor.

Current Mayor Greer Stone said the mayor’s powers, which are currently focused on leading policy and strategic direction of the city, would be unchanged.

But he thinks there are still a few advantages to amending the charter.

“First, it promotes greater democracy within the community,” Stone said. “We have an engaged populace. If we’re trusting them to vote us into office, we should trust them to vote for mayor.”

Stone supports amending the charter and is amenable to the idea of making it either a two- or four-year term, depending on what the public prefers, as long as electing a mayor would coincide with the general elections.

Councilor Vicki Veenker also supports giving voters the responsibility of choosing their mayor.

She said during the meeting extending the term to two or four years means that voters would have a greater say in who leads the city.

Having a mayor serve a longer term could also “enhance and increase our clout outside the city,” Veenker said.

Both Veenker and Stone pointed out that part of the mayor’s job is building relationships at the state, federal and international levels, which they have found challenging under the current one-year term setup.

“The mayor has a special role representing Palo Alto outside the city,” Veenker said. “It would be helpful for us to be more impactful to share our learnings and build relationships in a more continuous way.”

But not all see the need to amend the charter for this purpose, however.

“Residents electing a mayor for a longer term are solutions looking for a problem,” resident Winter Dellenbach said. “It does smack to me of creating an office for possibly the prestige of it, rather than the need for it.”

Another issue raised was Palo Alto’s representation on state boards. Despite its medium-sized population, Palo Alto wields substantial economic influence in the region and is currently operating with an enormous budget of $1 billion for the 2023-2024 fiscal year.

Mayors can represent the city, or serve as executive members of various regional boards, such as the Association of Bay Area Governments, or the U.S. Conference of Mayors. But having a term of only one year limits Palo Alto mayors’ ability to do this.

Vice Mayor Ed Lauing doesn’t think it’s a good enough reason to amend the charter, however.

“I’m just not (understanding why) regional or national boards should be the main driver of this,” Lauing said.

“In the current system, you are guaranteed to have a mayor with experience because of the tradition where they undergo training as vice mayor. In an open election, we could end up with someone who just moved here last week, lacking any experience,” he said.

The shift has some precedent. Nearby, Sunnyvale voters in 2020 decided to amend their charter to give residents the power to vote for their mayor directly.

Sunnyvale Mayor Larry Klein became the first directly elected mayor. He attended Palo Alto’s council meeting in person to speak on the city’s experiencing in transitioning to a direct vote.

The longer the mayor’s term is, the better the city’s representation becomes in the region, Klein said. “It’s better for the city and also it’s a better relationship that the mayor has with the city manager.”

Aside from Sunnyvale, other cities in Santa Clara County that elect their mayor directly to four-year terms include Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, Gilroy and San Jose.

Morgan Hill and Milpitas voters elect their mayor to two-year terms.

In San Mateo County, Half Moon Bay elects its mayor to a four-year term, San Bruno to a three-year term, and Belmont opts for a two-year mayoral term.

The impact of these proposed changes on the annual budget would be minimal, according to Stone. Aside from the usual election costs, there would be no salary adjustments as the role of mayor would remain a part-time position in the amended charter.