Brief

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez and Bob Blumenfield have introduced a motion proposing a Charter amendment to be placed on the November 2026 ballot. The measure would prohibit any person who serves as a caretaker or appointee to fill a vacant council seat from seeking election to that office for five years after the vacancy occurs. The motion is currently pending in the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, where it was continued without a scheduled return date as of May 21, 2026.

Full summary

Councilmember Monica Rodriguez, seconded by Bob Blumenfield, is seeking a City Charter amendment that would bar anyone appointed to temporarily fill a vacant Council seat — whether as a caretaker or a voting appointee — from running for election in that same district for five years. The motion directs the City Attorney to draft the ballot measure language for the November 2026 election. The rationale Rodriguez offers is one of electoral fairness: when the Council appoints a placeholder to hold a seat until voters can weigh in, that appointee should not benefit politically from the temporary platform. She draws an explicit analogy to existing City rules that require appointed Ethics Commission members and the Ethics Commission's Executive Director to wait five years after their terms end before seeking elected office. The motion argues the same logic applies to interim Council appointees. The proposal builds on related work Rodriguez has advanced through CF 24-0579, in which the Charter Reform Commission took up her recommendation that the Council be required to call a special election whenever a vacancy arises with more than one year remaining on a term. Even with that safeguard potentially in place, Rodriguez argues residual concerns about caretaker and voting appointees justify this additional restriction. The relevant Charter provision is Section 409, which currently allows the Council to fill a vacancy either by appointment for the remainder of the unexpired term or by calling a special election. As of May 21, 2026, the motion is pending in the Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee, which continued the item without setting a return date. No Council floor vote has occurred. For the measure to reach the November 2026 ballot, the file would need to move through committee, win Council approval, and meet ballot qualification deadlines. The file expires May 21, 2028 if no further action is taken.

Activity (3)

• 2026-05-21 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee continued item to date to be determined.
• 2026-05-20 Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee scheduled item for committee meeting on May 21, 2026.
• 2026-05-01 Motion referred to Rules, Elections and Intergovernmental Relations Committee.

Documents (2)

• 2026-05-21 Speaker Card(s) · speaker_card
• 2026-05-01 Motion · motion