Stanton voters could decide on term limits for mayor and City Council next year

Stanton voters may decide new term limits for its City Council and mayor in the November 2024 general election.

In a 4-0 vote this week, councilmembers instructed city staff to draft a ballot measure establishing three four-year term limits for the mayor’s seat. The measure will also include a provision to expand term limits for the four councilmembers’ seats — upping them from two four-year terms to three.

The ballot measure requires approval from the council before it can be placed on the 2024 ballot.

Term limits were established for councilmembers following the adoption of Measure RR in 2016.

But when Stanton switched to district-based elections in the following year, the mayor’s seat was designated to be an at-large position, unlike the rest of the council. Term limits enacted under Measure RR did not apply, allowing the mayor to serve unlimited terms of four years.

“It’s the only position that isn’t covered. The intention originally was for it to be covered,” said Councilmember Gary Taylor, alluding to the term limits established under Measure RR.

Councilmember Hong Alyce Van, who recommended the three-term limit across the board, said the current term limits hamper councilmembers from finishing long-term projects.

“As a councilmember, I feel like you spend your first term trying to figure out what you’re doing,” Van said. “You won’t actually be able to see projects from cradle to grave.”

Mayor David Shawver, who was first elected to the City Council in 1988 and has served several terms as mayor, was absent from the Aug. 22 meeting and did not vote.

In order to enact the new term limits, the council would first need to adopt a resolution calling for the measure to be placed on the ballot before voters are asked to consider the measure, according to a staff report. If a majority of Stanton residents vote in favor of the measure, any potential term limit would apply beginning in 2026, which is when Shawver’s current term expires.

City staff recommended the council to include the measure in the 2024 general election instead of a standalone special election due to cost. Holding a special election would cost between $513,583 and $547,415, according to city staff, while placing the measure on next year’s ballot will cost $8,500.