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CITY ATTORNEY CITY OF SAN LEANDRO INTER -OFFICE MEMORANDUM TO: City Council FROM: Steven R. Meyers.; City Attorney / RE: Charter Amendment DATE: February 1, 2000 mb a000__- M_cn-o0 OcC 55) Pursuant to the Council's direction in the work session in January, I have drafted language for a proposed charter amendment to require the Mayor and Council Members to be elected with at least 50% of the vote. The amendment requires the City Council to adopt a method to provide for a run-off if no candidate receives at least 50% of the vote. The amendment is flexible enough to allow the Council to take advantage of new innovations that allow the City to conduct elections in a cost effective manner. For instance, it allows the Council to adopt an ordinance permitting the use of mailed ballots or the use of an instant run-off voting system once that becomes available in Alameda County. The proposed charter amendment would read as follows: "The candidate receiving the highest number of votes for the offices of Mayor and Council Members of the City shall be elected to such offices, provided that such candidate receives at least 50% plus one of the votes cast for each such office. In the event that no candidate for such elective office of the City receives at least 50% plus one of the votes cast for that office, the City Council shall provide for a run-off vote to determine the person elected. The City Council shall adopt an ordinance establishing a run-off system. The run-off system may include mailed ballots, an instant run-off voting system when such technology is available to the City, or a special run-off election. The ordinance setting forth the run- off system may be amended from time to time for any reason, but no amendment to the ordinance may take effect less than 103 days prior to any municipal election." The amendment will also amend existing charter language to specify when a successful candidate's term of office begins. Section 235 currently reads "Council Members and the Mayor shall hold office for four years commencing on the first day of May following their election and until their successors are elected and qualified." The proposed amendment would clarify the date when the terms of office begin by amending Section 235 to read as follows: