The Santa Rosa City Council has narrowly adopted a new voting process for selecting its own mayor and vice mayor, but the move has already split the council.
According to the Press Democrat, approved in a 5-2 vote, the new rules streamline nominations and set tie-breaking procedures, attempting to prevent a repeat of complex deadlocks, like the one seen in the 2022 mayoral selection. However, dissenting council members, led by Victoria Fleming, argue the changes do not address the lack of transparency and backroom negotiations that occur before the public vote.
They contend that only a simpler process can truly make the selection “clean.” The new rules will be in place for the November vice mayor vote.
