City of Tucson Mayoral Voting Authority Expansion, Proposition 403 (November 2015)
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A measure giving the Tucson mayor equal voting rights as the members of the Tucson City Council was on the ballot for Tucson voters in Pima County, Arizona, on November 3, 2015. It was approved.
Proposition 403 gave the Tucson mayor an equal vote to members of the Tucson City Council in council meetings. It also allowed the mayor's presence to count towards the quorum of council members who must be present for a meeting to be conducted.[1]
Election results
| Tucson, Proposition 403 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
 Yes | 57,678 | 71.96% | ||
| No | 22,474 | 28.04% | ||
- Election results from Pima County Elections Office
Text of measure
Ballot language
The following language for this measure appeared on the ballot:[1]
| “ |
A “YES” vote shall have the effect of giving the Mayor equal voting rights as the members of the Council, including a vote on decisions involving the removal of the City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, City Magistrates, and Civil Service Commissioners; and of including the Mayor in the calculation of a quorum for Mayor and Council meetings. A “NO” vote shall have the effect of retaining the current provisions of the Charter under which the Mayor does not have a vote in decisions by the Council to remove the City Manager, City Attorney, City Clerk, City Magistrates, and Civil Service Commissioners; and under which the Mayor does not count towards a quorum for Mayor and Council.[2] |
” |
Full text
The full text of this measure is available here.
Support
Supporters
The following individuals signed official arguments in favor of Proposition 403:[3]
- Jonathan Rothschild, Tucson Mayor
- Matt Kopec, Treasurer, Pima County Democratic Party Committee
- Guillermo Figueroa, Vice Chairman of the Board, Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce
- Lisa Lovallo, Chair, Board of Directors, Southern Arizona Leadership Council
- Ron Shoopman, President & CEO, Southern Arizona Leadership Council
- Michael V. Varney, President, Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce
- Cyndy Valdez, Secretary, Tucson Metro Chamber of Commerce
- Richard Miranda, former Tucson City Manager
- R E Walkup, former Tucson Mayor
Arguments in favor
Supporters of the proposition argued that the mayor ought to have a vote in the city council, particularly with regard to the hiring of city employees such as the city manager. They believed that this would ultimately make city employees accountable only to the city council, not to the mayor. Additionally, they claimed that the mayor ought to count towards the quorum of council members required to conduct business. They asserted that this is an especially reasonable policy because the mayor is elected by the citizens of Tucson.[3]
Tucson Mayor Jonathan Rothschild wrote an argument in favor of the proposition for the Official Voter Information pamphlet provided to voters by the city:
| “ |
Please vote YES on Prop. 403, a change to Tucson's City Charter recommended by our citizens' Charter Review Committee. Probably few Tucsonans realize that the mayor does not have equal voting rights with City Council members under Tucson's current City Charter. In fact, the mayor doesn't even count toward a quorum, the minimum number of voting members who must be present at a meeting in order to conduct business. Under Tucson's current City Charter, the mayor has no vote in whether to fire or retain the city manager or other important department heads. In effect, this makes key staff accountable only to City Council members and not at all to the mayor. Prop. 403 would amend Tucson's City Charter to put the mayor on an equal footing with City Council members, giving him or her equal voting rights and counting the mayor toward a quorum for City Council meetings. Please vote YES on Prop. 403. [2] |
” |
| —Jonathan Rothschild, Tucson Mayor[3] | ||
The full text of the official ballot arguments in favor of the proposition can be read here.
Editorials
The editorial board of the Arizona Daily Star endorsed a "yes" vote on Proposition 403. The board called the measure a "no-brainer," arguing that it was common-sense legislation. The board wrote:[4]
| “ |
The mayor can vote to hire key city administrators, but not to fire them. Voters can fix that on Nov. 3 by voting “yes” to amend the City Charter to give the mayor both powers. Vote “yes” on Proposition 403.[2] |
” |
| —Arizona Daily Star editorial board[4] | ||
The editorial board of the Tucson Weekly also endorsed a "yes" vote on Proposition 403, using the same "no-brainer" phrase. The members of the board argued that the mayor had too little power under prior laws and ought to be given equal power to the city council members. The board wrote:[5]
| “ |
This one is a no-brainer. Under the current structure of city government, the mayor has little power beyond planting trees and reading to schoolchildren (both of which, BTW, our current mayor, Jonathan Rothschild, does very well). This would give the mayor equal power to his fellow council members when it comes to firing high-ranking city officials and some other parliamentary authority. It's well past time we do this.[2] |
” |
| —Tucson Weekly editorial board[5] | ||
Opposition
No official arguments were submitted in opposition to Proposition 403. If you know of any endorsements or arguments that should be posted here, please email the Local Ballot Measures Project staff writer.[3]
Reports and analysis
Arizona Public Media
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Path to the ballot
Proposition 403 was recommended for the ballot by the Tucson Charter Review Committee, a citizen committee.[6]
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Tucson Mayoral Voting Authority Expansion Proposition 403. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- Pima County, Arizona ballot measures
- November 3, 2015 ballot measures in Arizona
- Tucson, Arizona municipal elections, 2015
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Pima County Elections Department, “Ballot Question text,” accessed August 25, 2015
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 City of Tucson Election Department, "Official Voter Information," accessed October 21, 2015
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Arizona Daily Star, "2015 endorsements by the Arizona Daily Star," October 15, 2015
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Tucson Weekly, "The Tucson Weekly 2015 Endorsements," October 15, 2015
- ↑ Arizona Daily Star, "City ballot propositions highlighted at forum," October 2, 2015
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