Why Sunnyvale voters should pass Measure B

As Sunnyvale moves to City Council elections by neighborhood districts, the community would be well-served by letting voters citywide pick their mayor.

That’s why they should approve the contentious Measure B on the March 3 ballot.

All sides agree that the city must ditch its current system in which council members are elected at-large. They know the city is vulnerable to a costly lawsuit alleging the current system discriminates against minority voters.

They’ve seen what happens in neighboring Santa Clara, where they city has paid out millions of taxpayer dollars for legal expenses because officials are trying to play games with the California Voting Rights Act. In contrast, Sunnyvale leaders are behaving responsibly in their efforts to comply with the law.

Measure B seeks voter approval to elect six council members by district and the mayor citywide. It also would increase term limits from the current two consecutive fouryear terms to three consecutive four-year terms, with no more than two of those terms as mayor or as a council member.

Proponents and opponents of Measure B agree that district elections are necessary to meet the standards of the state voting rights law. They disagree over whether the city should have six districts and a mayor directly elected for four years by all Sunnyvale voters, or seven districts with a mayor elected for two years by the council members.

It’s a close call. We urge voters to pass Measure B. A mayor elected by all voters would look out for the best interests of the entire city and also have more clout on important regional issues.

Under a seven-district system, mayors would only hold the office for two years. They would still only be accountable to voters in their district; they would not have the same obligation to listen and respond to concerns raised by residents who live elsewhere in the city.

A mayor elected by residents in a single district also would not command the same respect as a mayor elected by an entire city. It’s an important consideration when the mayor seeks to protect Sunnyvale’s interests, for example, on regional housing and transportation issues.

Measure B critics say that Sunnyvale residents have already made clear they do not want an at-large mayor, voting down ballot measures in 1991 and again in 2011. But those votes were made when all seven of the council members were voted into office in citywide elections. That’s about to change. Cities with district elections benefit from a mayor who takes more of a big-picture approach to issues and is obligated to the entire city.

Opponents also fear that electing mayors in at-large elections would favor wealthier candidates or those willing to take big donations from special interest groups. It’s a serious concern but, at the end of the day, voters still have to do a good job of picking their elected officials. We trust that voters would take donor contributions into consideration when casting their votes.

Measure B would comply with the California Voting Rights Act and provide Sunnyvale with a mayor who is wellpositioned to look out for the city’s best interests. We recommend it to voters.