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Smart Voter
San Mateo County, CA November 3, 2015 Election
Measure U
City Clerk
City of San Bruno

Majority Approval Required

Pass: 2,736 / 51.0% Yes votes ...... 2,628 / 49.0% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

Results as of Dec 21 8:37pm, 100.0% of Precincts Reporting (21/21)
29.5% Voter Turnout (105,341/357,191)
Information shown below: Official Information | Impartial Analysis | Arguments |

Shall the position of the City Clerk of the City of San Bruno be appointive?

Official Sources of Information

Impartial Analysis from the City Attorney
The City Council of the City of San Bruno has placed this measure on the ballot to ask the voters of San Bruno if the position of City Clerk should be made appointive rather than elective. Under California law, the City Clerk of any general law city such as San Bruno is an elective position unless it is made appointive by the voters of the City.

Currently, the San Bruno City Clerk is elected for a four-year term. State law establishes two qualifications for the position of City Clerk: the individual must be at least eighteen years of age and be a registered voter of the City.

Some of the City Clerk's duties include administering state laws that govern open meetings, conflict of interest codes, public records, elections, and campaign disclosure and finance. Other duties include creating minutes for City Council meetings, maintaining official city documents and records, printing and distributing City Council agenda packets, and providing legally required official notices of meetings.

If adopted by majority vote of those persons voting, this measure would make the position of City Clerk appointive at the end of the incumbent City Clerk's term which expires on December 3, 2017.

A "yes" vote would make the position of City Clerk appointive rather than elective.

A "no" vote would keep the position of City Clerk elective.

 
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Arguments For Measure U Arguments Against Measure U
A "yes" vote on Measure U ensures that the selection of the City Clerk for the City of San Bruno be based on qualifications and experience, not the results of a political campaign. As current City Clerk, I endorse this measure.

Elections should be for policy makers. The Clerk position is administrative in nature and mostly directed by statute. The needs of the community have grown and the complexity of the Clerk's position have increased since our first elected City Clerk took office 100 years ago, yet the elected qualifications remain the same - eighteen years of age and registered voter in San Bruno.

The person who would fill this role needs to have professional skills and expertise in elections, political practices law, open meeting laws, records retention, conflict-of-interest regulations, and contract practices. They need to be conversant with state and local statutes and ordinances.

In the vast majority of California cities, the City Clerk is an appointed position subject to the same evaluation and hiring practices as with any other city employees. A YES vote would bring our City in line with the modern practices of other cities. It would assure that the position of City Clerk is filled by someone with the experience and qualifications necessary for the job. Not having a qualified City Clerk could put the City in legal jeopardy in many areas.

As the City Clerk, I am committed to quality local government and ask you to join me and other civic leaders in voting YES on Measure U.

/s/ Carol Bonner, City Clerk, City of San Bruno

/s/ Jim Ruane, Mayor, City of San Bruno

/s/ Michael Salazar, Vice-Mayor, City of San Bruno

/s/ Irene O'Connell, Council Member, City of San Bruno

(No arguments against were submitted)


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Created: December 21, 2015 20:37 PST
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