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2020-006 - Calling the Election for the Term Limits InitiatiiveRESOLUTION 2020-006 RESOLUTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS CALLING AND GIVING NOTICE OF A MUNICIPAL ELECTION TO BE HELD NOVEMBER 3, 2020 FOR THE SUBMISSION TO THE VOTERS OF AN INITIATIVE AMENDING THE TOWN CODE TO ESTABLISH TERM LIMITS FOR THE TOWN COUNCIL WHEREAS, on October 7, 2019, a Notice of Intent to Circulate a Petition titled "A Citizens Initiative Measure Amending the Town Code to Limit the Time a Person May Serve on the Town Council to Two Consecutive Terms" (the "Initiative") was filed with the Town's Elections Official with a request that a title and summary be prepared for the measure; and WHEREAS, the Town Attorney provided a title and summary for the proposed Initiative to the proponents; and WHEREAS, the petitions regarding the Initiative were filed with the Elections Official on January 16, 2020 bearing unverified signatures; and WHEREAS, to qualify for the November 3, 2020, ballot, proponents were required to obtain signatures of ten percent (10%) of the registered voters of the Town; and WHEREAS, the Town Clerk and Town Attorney have found that the petition's form complies with the Elections Code; and WHEREAS, the County Elections Division has examined the records of voter registration and has certified that the Petition is signed by the requisite number of voters to qualify for the election; and WHEREAS, the Town Council wishes to consolidate the Municipal Election with the Statewide Election to be held on November 3, 2020, and that the precincts, polling places, and elections officers of the two elections be the same within the Town; and that the Santa Clara County Elections Department canvass the returns of the Municipal Election, and that the elections be held in all respects as if one election. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town Council of the Town of Los Gatos does Declare, Determine, and Order as Follows: SECTION 1. Pursuant to the laws of the State of California relating to general law cities there is called and ordered to be held in the Town of Los Gatos, California, on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, a Municipal Election. 1of3 Resolution 2020-006 March 3, 2020 SECTION 2 Pursuant to Elections Code § 9214, subdivision (b) and § 1405, subdivision (a)(1), the Town Council hereby orders the Initiative to be placed on the ballot without alteration and does order the following question submitted to the voters at the Special Municipal Election: Shall the measure proposing a term limit ordinance to require that after serving two (2) YES four (4) year terms, a Town Council Member is not eligible to run for the Town Council or to be appointed to a vacancy unless a period of four NO years has elapsed since their last service on Town Council, be adopted? SECTION 3. The text of the ballot measure is attached to this resolution as Exhibit A. The text of the measure shall be printed in the ballot materials; copies of the exhibits to the measure shall be available for public inspection in the Town Clerk's office and on the Town's website at www.losgatosca.gov. SECTION 4. The Town Council directs the Town Clerk to transmit a copy of the measure to the Town Attorney and directs the Town Attorney to prepare an impartial analysis of the measure pursuant to Elections Code § 9280. SECTION 5. Arguments in favor of or against the measure shall be submitted to the Town Clerk on or before August 4, 2020 by 5:00 p.m. under Elections Code section 9286 et seq. If the Town Clerk receives more than one argument for and/or against, the priorities established by Elections Code section 9287 shall control. SECTION 6. Rebuttal arguments shall be controlled by the provisions of Elections Code section 9285. The deadline for filing rebuttal arguments shall be August 11, 2020, by 5:00 p.m. SECTION 7. The initiative measure shall pass only if a majority of the votes cast by voters voting on the measure are "yes" votes. SECTION 8. Pursuant to Elections Code commencing with Section 10400, the Town Council hereby requests the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara to order the consolidation of the general municipal election to be conducted within the boundaries of the Town of Los Gatos on November 3, 2020, with respect to which the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara has the power to order a consolidation. The Town Council further consents to and orders the consolidation of the general municipal election hereby called with the statewide general election and acknowledges that the consolidated election will be held 2of3 Resolution 2020-006 March 3, 2020 and conducted in the manner prescribed in Section 10418. SECTION 9. The Town Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to publish a notice of the general municipal election within the time and in the manner specified in the Elections Code Section 12112. The Town Clerk is further authorized and directed to do all other things required by law to hold the general municipal election above provided. SECTION 10. The Town Clerk is hereby authorized and directed to certify to the adoption of this resolution and to transmit a certified copy to the Board of Supervisors of the County of Santa Clara and to the Registrar of Voters of the County of Santa Clara. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the Town Council of the Town of Los Gatos this 3rd day of March 2020 by the following vote: COUNCIL MEMBERS: AYES: Rob Rennie, Marico Sayoc, Barbara Spector, Mayor Marcia Jensen NAYS: None ABSENT: None ABSTAINED: None SIGNED: MAYOR OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA DATE: 4/ 4" 2� ATTEST: TOWN CLERK OF THE TOWN OF LOS GATOS LOS GATOS, CALIFORNIA DATE:�� o"ZO 3of3 Resolution 2020-006 March 3, 2020 LOS GATOS TOWN COUNCIL TERM LUMTS INITIATIVE BE IT ORDAINED by the People of the Town of Los Gatos as follows: Section 1. Title. This measure shall be known and may be referred to as the "Town Council Term Limits Initiative." Section 2. Findings and Declarations. WHEREAS, the Los Gatos Town Council consists of five Council members; and WHEREAS, Los Gatos Town Council members are elected to serve staggered four-year terms; and WHEREAS, the Town of Los Gatos currently does not have term limits for Town Council members; and WHEREAS, term limits encourage competitive elections and foster increased citizen participation in seeking elective office; and WHEREAS, term limits encourage diversity among the members of the Town Council; and WHEREAS, term limits provide voters with more choices about who will represent them; and WHEREAS, California Government Code section 36502 authorizes the People of Los Gatos to adopt by initiative a limit on the number of terms a member of the Town Council may serve; and WHEREAS, the People of Los Gatos support a term limit of two consecutive four-year terms; and WHEREAS, after serving two consecutive terms, a person should not be eligible to serve an additional term until at least four years have elapsed since that person last held office; and WHEREAS, a person appointed or elected to serve a partial term of two years or EXHIBIT A less should be eligible to serve an additional two consecutive four-year terms; and WHEREAS, a partial term of more than two years should be deemed to be one full term; and WHEREAS, the People of Los Gatos intend for tern limits to apply prospectively beginning with the terns that commence on or after the effective date of this ordinance. NOW, THEREFORE, the People of the Town of Los Gatos do ordain as follows: Section 3. Section 2.20.040 is hereby added to the Los Gatos Town Code to read in its entirety as follows: Section 2.20.040. - Term Limits. (a) The term of office for each member of the Town Council shall be four years. (b) No person shall serve more than two consecutive terms as a member of the Town Council. (c) Any person who has served two consecutive terms shall not serve again, either by election or appointment, until at least four years have elapsed since that person last held office. (d) For purposes of this section, any person appointed or elected to the Town Council to fill an unexpired term of two years or less in length shall thereafter be eligible to serve two consecutive terms upon the expiration of the partial term for which that person was appointed or elected. (e) Applying prospectively to terms commencing on or after the effective date of this ordinance, any portion of a term of office longer than two years shall be deemed to be a fall term for the purpose of the limit imposed by this section. (t) Any member of the Town Council who resigns from or otherwise leaves office during a term shall be deemed to have served the entirety of that term for the purpose of the limit imposed by this section, regardless of the length of time remaining in the term. 2 Section 4. Earliest Possible Election. The People of Los Gatos hereby expressly request that this measure be submitted to the voters of Los Gatos at the earliest time allowable by law. Section 5. Severability. Should any provision of this measure, or its application to any person or circumstance, be determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unlawful, unenforceable, or otherwise void, voidable, or invalid, that determination shall have no effect on any other provision, or the application of this measure to any other person or circumstance and, to that end, the provisions hereof are severable. By approving this measure, the voters express their intent that each section and subsection would have been adopted irrespective of whether any one or more sections or subsections are found to be invalid or unconstitutional, and that each section and subsection is therefore explicitly severable, part -by -part, phrase -by -phrase, and word -by -word, and that if any portion is determined by a court of competent jurisdiction to be unlawful, unenforceable, or otherwise void, voidable, or invalid, that the least amount of language be severed from the ordinance. Section 6. Competing Initiatives/Measures. This measure is intended to be comprehensive. It is the intent of the People of Los Gatos that, in the event this measure and one or more measures relating to the same subject shall appear on the same ballot, the provisions of the other measure or measures shall be deemed in conflict with this measure. In the event that this measure receives a greater number of affirmative votes, the provisions of this measure shall prevail in their entirety, and all provisions of the other measure or measures shall be null and void. If this measure is approved by a majority of the voters but does not receive a greater number of affirmative votes than any other measure or measures appearing on the same ballot regarding the creation of term limits, then this measure shall take effect to the extent not in conflict with said other measure or measures. Section 7. Effective Date. This measure shall be considered adopted and become effective upon the date of the election which it was approved by the voters. Section 8. Liberal Construction. This measure is an exercise of the initiative power of the People of Los Gatos to create term limits for service on the Town Council, and shall be liberally construed to effectuate that purpose. Section 9. Legal Defense. The People of Los Gatos desire that this measure, if approved by a simple majority of voters, and thereafter challenged in court, be defended by the Town of Los Gatos. The People of Los Gatos, by approving this measure by a simple majority of voters, hereby declare that the proponent(s) of this measure have a direct and personal stake in defending this measure from constitutional or statutory challenges to the measure's validity or implementation. In the event the Town fails to defend this measure, or the Town fails to appeal an adverse judgment against the constitutionality, statutory permissibility or implementation of this measure, in whole or in part, in any court of law, the measure's proponent(s) shall be entitled to assert his, her or their direct personal stake by defending the measure's validity and implementation in any court of law and shall be empowered by the People through this measure to act as agents of the People of Los Gatos, and the Town of Los Gatos shall indemnify the proponent(s) for reasonable expenses and other losses incurred by the proponent(s), as agent(s), in defending the validity and/or implementation of the challenged measure. The rate of indemnification shall be no more than the amount it would cost the Town to perform the defense itself.