Scotts Valley Municipal Code Ch. 2.23 Election of City Council Members

The purposes of this chapter are:

A. To provide that all members of the city council shall be elected in accordance with the principles of the United States and California Constitutions;

B. To provide that any appointment of a person to fill a vacancy on the city council will be temporary and operate only until the next election;

C. To provide that an open election to fill such vacancy and replace any such temporary appointment to the city council will be held as quickly as possible and in accordance with California Government Code Section 36512.2;

D. To provide that the selection of temporary city council appointees shall take place in open public meetings.

(Ord. 112 § 2 (part), 1984)

A. At the time of circulation of this petition, only two of the five-member city council were elected by a vote of the people.

B. The majority of the city council is appointed and not elected.

C. The California Government Code provides that a city has the authority to fill every council vacancy by an election.

D. Section 36512.2 of the Government Code provides that a city has the authority to limit the term of office of a temporary appointee to the city council and the authority to call for an election to fill such council vacancy.

E. The city council knew of these laws and authorities at the time of each appointment to the city council and refused to exercise them.

F. Further, by the time they approved the third, majority, appointee, the council had four separate opportunities to enact these laws and authorities and four times refused to exercise them.

G. These actions created a nonrepresentative and nonelected majority on the city council.

H. This lack of elected representation on the city council is contrary to the intent of the United States and California Constitutions and deprives the citizens of the city of democratic rights guaranteed to them by those Constitutions.

(Ord. 112 § 2 (part), 1984)

Editorial Note: Ord. No. 201, § 2, adopted Sept. 10, 2025, repealed § 2.23.030, which pertained to procedure for filling city council vacancies and derived from Ord. 112 § 2 (part), 1984.

If a portion of this chapter is hereafter determined to be invalid, all remaining portions of this ordinance codified in this chapter shall remain in full force and effect, and, to this extent, the provisions of this chapter are severable.

(Ord. 112 § 2 (part), 1984)

Candidates for city council elected at any council election shall assume office and be seated at the next regular council meeting following certification of election results.

(Ord. 114 § 1, 1984)