Chapter 8 Elections and Charter Amendments

At a glance

What: a new Chapter 8 (Elections) ordinance and three Charter amendment resolutions: voting age 16 for municipal elections, Mayor and Council must be 18 or older, and a limit of four consecutive four-year terms.
Where it stands: introduced 2026-10-05; public hearings 1 (Chapter 8) and 2 (Charter amendments) were held on November 2; hearing 2 is on 2026-11-09.
Next: hearing 2 on 2026-11-09; staff proposed Charter amendment adoption on 2026-11-16 (not confirmed).

Public hearings were set unanimously for November 2 and November 9.
2026-11-02 - Leadership Planning - Agenda-planning run-through: public hearings on the election code and charter amendments set for November 2 and November 9, with adoption of the election code planned for November 16 (from captions).

Chapter 8 ordinance and three Charter amendment resolutions introduced; hearings set for November 2 and 9.

Both public hearings were opened (Chapter 8 first, then the Charter amendments) with several speakers on voting at 16 and 17 and written comments; no vote. Record stays open until 5:00 PM on November 16. Staff to expand the hearing web page.

Board reviewed the Chapter 8 timeline (introduction October 5, adoption expected November 16, effective in January), including late-report campaign finance penalties and future provisions for the 2031 cycle, and planned to revise the candidate handbook once the code is approved.