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Politics & Government

Encinitas Residents Will Vote on Whether to Directly Elect Mayor

Voters can weigh in on the ballot measure during November's general election.

Encinitas City Council voted unanimously to give residents a chance to select a mayor at Wednesday night’s special meeting. 

Currently the council selects the mayor and deputy mayor  Councilwoman Teresa Barth has served since 2006 and has never been selected as mayor. That , and in March  after a strong public outcry.

The Encinitas mayor and deputy mayor seats have traditionally been rotated so that each city council member gets a chance to serve, though there is no official policy requiring that to happen. 

Find out what's happening in Encinitaswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Of the 18 cities in San Diego County, Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar are the only places where voters do not elect their mayor.

The ballot measure in November will ask voters if they want to directly elect a mayor and whether the elected mayor’s term should be two years or four years.

Find out what's happening in Encinitaswith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Lynn Marr, a Leucadia resident, said she supported directly electing a mayor, but questioned why Council didn’t approve the policy earlier. If Council had acted in time to place the mayor selection item on last month’s June 5 primary and it was approved, residents could have directly elected a mayor during the upcoming November general election, she argued.

“But now if these questions go on the ballot in the general election, you need to have a contingency plan for the next two years,” Marr said.  

Barth asked city staff if language on the ballot will spell out the mayor’s responsibilities and if the mayor is paid more than council. But Council opted to iron out the details of the ballot measure at an undetermined date.  

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