Pass: 11,078 / 69.82% Yes votes ...... 4,788 / 30.18% No votes

See Also: Index of all Measures

     NO

Sunnyvale Charter Section 1002 now provides that a member of a Sunnyvale board or commission may serve two four-year terms, and is required to wait two years after the expiration of the term for which the member was appointed to be eligible for re-appointment to the same board or commission. The section is unclear on whether a board or commission member can serve two consecutive four-year terms on the same board or commission, or must wait two years after the first full term. The proposed Charter Amendment will clarify that a board or commission member may serve two consecutive four-year terms.

Sunnyvale Charter Section 1002 now provides that a person is eligible for appointment to a different board or commission only after the expiration of the full term of the board or commission they are currently on, even if they resign prior to completion of their full term. The proposed Charter Amendment will allow a board or commission member to resign prior to completion of their term to serve on a different board or commission in the City, subject to City Council consideration of whether appointment to a different board or commission is in the best interest of the City of Sunnyvale.

Sunnyvale Charter Section 1003 now provides that members of boards and commissions serve one four-year term, with the exception of the Planning Commission, Personnel Board and Board of Building Code Appeals who may serve two successive four-year terms. This Charter provision is inconsistent with Section 1002 which provides for two four-year terms for all board and commission members. The proposed Charter Amendment will allow members of all City boards and commissions to serve two consecutive terms and will make the Charter provisions consistent.

A "Yes" vote is a vote to amend Sunnyvale Charter Sections 1002 and 1003 to provide for two consecutive four-year terms for all board and commission members prior to a required two-year waiting period for the same board or commission, to allow the appointment of a board and commission member to a different board or commission upon resignation subject to Council consideration of the City's best interests, and allow all City board and commission members to serve two consecutive four-year terms on the same board or commission.

A "No" vote is a vote not to amend Sunnyvale Charter Sections 1002 and 1003.

You may access the full text of the measure on the City's website at the following website address: http://www.BallotMeasures.inSunnyvale.com.

/s/ David Kahn
   City Attorney

The above statement is an impartial analysis of Measure D. If you desire a copy of the measure, please call the elections official's office: Office of the City Clerk, telephone (408) 730-7483, located at 603 All America Way, Sunnyvale, California and a copy will be mailed at no cost to you.

Sunnyvale City Charter and Muncipal Code

Sunnyvale Times

Measure D will bring clarity, consistency and fairness to the process of appointing citizens to City advisory boards and commissions.

Currently, the Sunnyvale City Charter restricts the Mayor and City Council from selecting the most qualified and talented citizens to serve on the City's boards and commissions.

The primary purpose of Sunnyvale's Boards and Commissions is to advise the Mayor and City Council on important policy and land use issues. Our elected officials should be free to appoint the most talented, experienced and qualified citizens as their advisors.

By clarifying this provision of the City Charter, we will ensure that citizens with the time, interest and experience to serve our city will not be precluded from volunteering.

Vote yes on Measure D.

/s/ Howard Chuck
    Parks & Recreation Commissioner 2004-2008 & Charter Review Committee &     Heritage Park Museum Board

/s/ Lawrence E. Stone
   Former Sunnyvale Mayor & Charter Review Committee Member

/s/ David D. Simons
    2006-07 Ad Hoc Charter Review Committee & Sunnyvale Planning Commissioner

/s/ Frederick Wiesinger
    President, Vargas Elementary School PTA

/s/ Otto Lee
    Mayor, City of Sunnyvale

If Measure D carries, the City Charter of the City of Sunnyvale, shall be amended by amending Sections 1002 and 1003, of Article X (Appointive Boards and Commissions), to read as follows:

Section 1002. Appointments. Qualifications. Except as otherwise provided in this Article:

The members of each board or commission shall be appointed, and shall be subject to removal, by motion of the City Council adopted by at least four affirmative votes.

No member of any board or commission shall be eligible to serve for more than two consecutive four-year terms nor shall such member be eligible for appointment to the same board or commission for two years after the expiration of the second full term for which the member was appointed and served. Any person appointed to a board or commission to fill an unexpired term of not more than two years in length shall be eligible to serve two full four-year term terms upon the expiration of the unexpired term for which such person was appointed.

Any person appointed to a board or commission shall be immediately eligible, upon the expiration of their term or resignation prior to completion of their term if appointed to a different board or commission, to serve on a different board or commission. The Council shall consider whether appointment of a person on a board or commission to serve on a different board or commission is in the best interest of the City.

Unless otherwise provided, the members first appointed to boards and commissions composed of four members shall so classify themselves by lot that each succeeding July 1st, the term of one of their number shall expire. If the total number of the members of a board or commission to be appointed exceeds four, the classification by lot shall provide for the grouping of terms to such an extent as is necessary in order that the term of at least one member shall expire on each succeeding July 1st.

Section 1003. Terms. Except as otherwise provided in this Article, the members of such boards and commissions shall serve for a term of four years and until their respective successors are appointed and qualified.

Members of the Planning Commission, the Personnel Board and the Board of Building Code Appeals created by the Sunnyvale Municipal Code or any successor body to the Board of Building Code Appeals, shall be eligible to serve no more than two successive terms on the same board or commission. For purposes of this section, terms are deemed successive if the commencement of one term occurs less than two years from the expiration of the other. No person having served two such successive terms shall be eligible for appointment to that same board or commission for two years following expiration of the second successive full term for which the member was appointed and served. Any person appointed to any of said boards or commissions to fill an unexpired term of not more than two years in length shall, however, be eligible to serve two successive four-year terms on the same board or commission upon expiration of the unexpired term for which such person was appointed. However, two nonconsecutive full terms shall be deemed successive if the member served an unexpired term of less than two years between the full terms, unless two years passed between the commencement or expiration of the member's partial term and either of the full terms.