After a spirited series of discussions that took place over several months, the East Palo Alto City Council modified Resolution 738 which specified how the mayor of East Palo Alto should be selected.Some thought the resolution stipulated that the position of mayor would rotate annually and go to the next city council member who had not previously served as mayor. If this interpretation had prevailed, then City Council Member Peter Evans would have automatically become mayor. But, at its meeting on Tuesday, November 20, the East Palo Alto City Council ended the debate. By a 4 to 1 vote, the council took away any confusion about the resolution by modifying it to state that the new mayor would be elected by the majority vote of the council.
So, at its last meeting on Tuesday, December 4, the East Palo Alto City Council elected by a 3 to 2 vote Vice Mayor Patricia Foster as East Palo Alto's new mayor. City Council Member Donna Rutherford was elected as the city's new vice mayor.
Given the long debate over the issue, do you approve of the changes the East Palo Alto City Council made to Resolution 738? Do you believe that the vice mayor or the council member who has not served as mayor should automatically become mayor or do you think the city council should elect as mayor the council member who gets the most votes?
