IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS OF MEASURE "G"

Ballot Measure ___ is a proposal to adopt an ordinance that would prohibit a person from serving more than two terms on the Hermosa Beach City Council unless elected as a write-in candidate.

City Council terms are four years in duration. Currently, councilmembers may be elected to office regardless of the number of terms previously served.

If the proposed ordinance is approved, a councilmember may only serve two terms. After serving the second of two terms, regardless of whether the terms are consecutive, a person would be ineligible to serve again until the expiration of "four consecutive intervening terms," a phrase that is undefined in the ordinance, but likely means sixteen years.

The proposed ordinance would allow incumbent councilmembers to serve one additional term of office, but only if they have not served for eight or more of the previous fifteen years.

The proposed ordinance contains an exemption from the term limits for any person who mounts a successful write-in campaign.

A "yes" vote is in favor of the term limit ordinance; a "no" vote is against adoption of the ordinance. A majority of "yes" votes is required for the ordinance to be enacted.

Michael Jenkins
City Attorney

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