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SR 10-24-2023 16A City Council Report City Council Meeting: October 24, 2023 Agenda Item: 16.A 1 of 2 To: Mayor and City Council From: Denise Anderson Warren, City Clerk, Records and Election Services Department Subject: Request by Mayor Davis to amend Rule 9(b) of the Council Rules of Procedure concerning Selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore to delete the sentence: “This provision shall not be subject to a suspension of the Council Rules, and shall be implemented until duly repealed or amended by the Council,” to read as follows: (b) Selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore. As required by Charter section 604, the Mayor shall be selected by the Council. The procedure for selection shall be as follows: Beginning in December 2022, the Council shall select the longest continuously serving Councilmember, whether initially elected or appointed, to serve as Mayor for a 1 year term. Each subsequent December the next longest continuously serving Councilmember shall be selected as Mayor for a 1 year term, then rotating each December to select the Mayor in order of the next longest serving Councilmember. If two or more Councilmembers were elected at the same election, the Councilmember receiving the higher number of votes shall be considered as having served longer for purposes of this provision. If two or more Councilmembers were initially appointed to serve at the same time, then when they each may first become eligible to be selected as Mayor, a coin flip shall decide who shall be considered as having served longer for purposes of this provision. The Mayor Pro Tempore may be selected by simple majority vote without regard to this provision. (This sentence will be deleted: "This provision shall not be subject to a suspension of the Council Rules, and shall be implemented until duly repealed or amended by the Council.") Prepared By: Nikima Newsome, Assistant City Clerk Approved Forwarded to Council 16.A Packet Pg. 667 2 of 2 Attachments: A. Proposed Amendment B. Written Comments 16.A Packet Pg. 668 Amendment of Rule 9(b) of the Council Rules of Procedure concerning Selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore to delete the sentence: “This provision shall not be subject to a suspension of the Council Rules, and shall be implemented until duly repealed or amended by the Council,” to read as follows: (b) Selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tempore. As required by Charter section 604, the Mayor shall be selected by the Council. The procedure for selection shall be as follows: Beginning in December 2022, the Council shall select the longest continuously serving Councilmember, whether initially elected or appointed, to serve as Mayor for a 1 year term. Each subsequent December the next longest continuously serving Councilmember shall be selected as Mayor for a 1 year term, then rotating each December to select the Mayor in order of the next longest serving Councilmember. If two or more Councilmembers were elected at the same election, the Councilmember receiving the higher number of votes shall be c onsidered as having served longer for purposes of this provision. If two or more Councilmembers were initially appointed to serve at the same time, then when they each may first become eligible to be selected as Mayor, a coin flip shall decide who shall be considered as having served longer for purposes of this provision. The Mayor Pro Tempore may be selected by simple majority vote without regard to this provision. This provision shall not be subject to a suspension of the Council Rules, and shall be implemented until duly repealed or amended by the Council. 16.A.a Packet Pg. 669 Attachment: Proposed Amendment (6080 : Amend Council Rule 9(b) Selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem) 1 Xavier Mota From:Peter DiChellis <pdichellis@yahoo.com> Sent:Sunday, October 22, 2023 3:40 PM To:councilmtgitems Subject:Agenda Item 16A - Mayor EXTERNAL To Santa Monica City Council: I oppose this Ɵme‐waster. The Council already adopted a process for selecƟng the Mayor and has far more important and urgent maƩers to aƩend: homeless bedlam, worsening crime, teetering ﬁnancials, obnoxious overdevelopment, and Council meeƟngs that take about as long as a ﬂight from LAX to Europe (but without the snacks or movies). This Item smacks of poliƟcal hackery and I hope the Council spends liƩle Ɵme dispatching it to the waste bucket it belongs in. Sincerely, Peter DiChellis Santa Monica 90403 ITEM 16.A. October 24, 2023 ITEM 16.A. October 24, 2023 16.A.b Packet Pg. 670 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 1] (6080 : Amend Council Rule 9(b) Selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem) 1 Xavier Mota From:T GROSSMAN <tina.grossman@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, October 24, 2023 2:36 PM To:councilmtgitems; Christine Parra; Oscar de la Torre; Phil Brock; Lana Negrete; Gleam Davis; Jesse Zwick; Caroline Torosis; David White Subject:Absolutely NO! Agenda Item 16.A 10/24/23 City Council Agenda: Gleam Davis proposed change of rules for selection Mayor EXTERNAL RE Agenda Item 16.A on Tuesday’s City Council Agenda: Gleam Davis proposed change of current rules-based selection of the Mayor Reference: Hello Council, I am completely opposed to this change proposed by current Mayor Gleam Davis which is designed to keep her in the mayor's office and deny the opportunity to another council person as agreed to last year. Reneging on the December 2022 agreement that gave her the office for a year?! Completely unacceptable. Thank you, Tina Grossman Sunset Park Resident 44 year citizen of SM References: 1. https://smmirror.com/2022/12/gleam‐davis‐and‐phil‐brock‐to‐each‐serve‐term‐as‐santa‐monica‐mayor/ 2. https://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2023/October- 2023/10_20_2023_Bureaucratic_Tweak_or_Effort_to_Block_Next_Mayor.html 3. https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News‐2023/October‐ 2023/10_23_2023_City_Attorney_Weighs_In_on_Proposed_Amendment.html 4. https://smdp.com/2023/10/23/the‐time‐to‐repeal‐the‐rotating‐mayor‐process‐is‐now/ (I don't agree with Mike.) 5. https://www.smobserved.com/story/2023/05/30/opinion/mayor‐gleam‐davis‐says‐that‐anyone‐who‐has‐slept‐on‐ the‐street‐here‐for‐a‐year‐is‐a‐santa‐monican‐local‐resident‐disagrees/7618.html (is her plan to register them as voters? Sorry, no) ITEM 16.A. October 24, 2023 ITEM 16.A. October 24, 2023 16.A.b Packet Pg. 671 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 1] (6080 : Amend Council Rule 9(b) Selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem) 1 Xavier Mota From:Arthur Jeon <arthur@ombaseproductions.com> Sent:Tuesday, October 24, 2023 9:39 PM To:Gleam Davis; tina.grossman@gmail.com Cc:Lana Negrete; Oscar de la Torre; Christine Parra; Caroline Torosis; Jesse Zwick; Phil Brock Subject:Re: Absolutely NO! Agenda Item 16.A 10/24/23 City Council Agenda: Gleam Davis proposed change of rules for selection Mayor EXTERNAL Hey Gleam, Just as long as Phil isn’t magically put “under investigation” within the next few months!●◐◑◒◓◔◕ I’m only half joking. As the anonymous email that poisoned a year’s worth of work with Covered 6 finally revealed, to a company that displayed infinite patience and professionalism in the face of irrational resistance, their 6 was never going to be covered in Santa Monica. They pulled out and Santa Monica lost the opportunity to work with a company that was convinced they could, with the help of their homeless liaison auditing the effectiveness of the fortune we spend on the problem, make a difference. Granted, this had more to do Andrew’s wavering as CEO of DTSM than the council, but it showed that the difference between baseless allegations (Eddy Bryce hadn’t worked with the company for two years and was never an employee) and “under investigation” is a faint one. It was an “October suprise” and a cheap shot from those who couldn’t accept the democratic process and the resulting vote. Andrew should have shrugged off the email, or at least just taken it under advisement, and proceeded with deploying the program the next day. That’s what a leader with courage would have done. The fact that he didn’t proceed gave Covered 6 pause. What would happen if their officers had to use force to restrain somebody punching tourists, which happened to three tourists on the promenade that week? What if the perpetrator, god forbid, was an oppressed person of color? I spoke with Chris Dunn, the CEO of Covered 6, about his decision and he said he simply wanted to go to where they were wanted and supported. And that he was concerned their officers, who have never had a use of force complaint ever, would not be supported here. That’s a shameful reflection on Santa Monica, and one that bleeds into the way some people in this city view our own police officers. Luckily, all this falls under a larger movement of ideological blinders that are starting to fall, although I’m sure we’ll be last to wake up in Santa Monica. But people are watching closely for a similar tactic to mess with our mayoral succession. And I too have become a supporter of district elections for the simple reason that if any of the council lived right off downtown like I do, and had to suffer like the residents here do, there would be at least one voice on the council fighting for those residents (and businesses). The bottom line is something's got to change here; the city’s byzantine political process is broken. Arthur On Oct 24, 2023, at 4:56 PM, T GROSSMAN <tina.grossman@gmail.com> wrote: Hi Gleam, I'm not persuaded. Although I like you, this change is not acceptable. Sorry. We should be working toward district elections. Thanks On Tue, Oct 24, 2023 at 3:19 PM Gleam Davis <Gleam.Davis@santamonica.gov> wrote: ITEM 16.A. October 24, 2023 ITEM 16.A. October 24, 2023 16.A.b Packet Pg. 672 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 1] (6080 : Amend Council Rule 9(b) Selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem) 2 Ms. Grossman, please read the item. It does not change the rule for selecting the mayor. It simply allows for a supermajority of the council to suspend the rule if it feels circumstances warrant doing so. For example, as has happened in other jurisdictions, if the next person in line to mayor has been indicted or is under investigation for criminal behavior, a supermajority of the council could suspend the rule to keep such a person from becoming mayor. This is simply good governance; not an attempt to change the rotational system. From: T GROSSMAN <tina.grossman@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 24, 2023 11:36:20 PM To: councilmtgitems <councilmtgitems@santamonica.gov>; Christine Parra <Christine.Parra@santamonica.gov>; Oscar de la Torre <Oscar.delaTorre@santamonica.gov>; Phil Brock <Phil.Brock@santamonica.gov>; Lana Negrete <Lana.Negrete@santamonica.gov>; Gleam Davis <Gleam.Davis@santamonica.gov>; Jesse Zwick <Jesse.Zwick@santamonica.gov>; Caroline Torosis <Caroline.Torosis@santamonica.gov>; David White <David.White@santamonica.gov> Subject: Absolutely NO! Agenda Item 16.A 10/24/23 City Council Agenda: Gleam Davis proposed change of rules for selection Mayor EXTERNAL RE Agenda Item 16.A on Tuesday’s City Council Agenda: Gleam Davis proposed change of current rules-based selection of the Mayor Reference: Hello Council, I am completely opposed to this change proposed by current Mayor Gleam Davis which is designed to keep her in the mayor's office and deny the opportunity to another council person as agreed to last year. Reneging on the December 2022 agreement that gave her the office for a year?! Completely unacceptable. Thank you, Tina Grossman Sunset Park Resident 44 year citizen of SM References: 1. https://smmirror.com/2022/12/gleam‐davis‐and‐phil‐brock‐to‐each‐serve‐term‐as‐santa‐monica‐ mayor/ 2. https://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2023/October- 2023/10_20_2023_Bureaucratic_Tweak_or_Effort_to_Block_Next_Mayor.html 3. https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News‐2023/October‐ 2023/10_23_2023_City_Attorney_Weighs_In_on_Proposed_Amendment.html 4. https://smdp.com/2023/10/23/the‐time‐to‐repeal‐the‐rotating‐mayor‐process‐is‐now/ (I don't agree with Mike.) 5. https://www.smobserved.com/story/2023/05/30/opinion/mayor‐gleam‐davis‐says‐that‐anyone‐ who‐has‐slept‐on‐the‐street‐here‐for‐a‐year‐is‐a‐santa‐monican‐local‐resident‐disagrees/7618.html (is her plan to register them as voters? Sorry, no) ITEM 16.A. October 24, 2023 ITEM 16.A. October 24, 2023 16.A.b Packet Pg. 673 Attachment: Written Comments [Revision 1] (6080 : Amend Council Rule 9(b) Selection of Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem)