Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : ELECTIONS / LANCASTER : Voters Will Decide Whether to Switch to Directly Elected Mayor

Residents of this city will decide in November whether they want to directly elect their mayors.

Currently, the post of mayor is rotated annually among the five Lancaster City Council members. But Monday night, by a 3-2 vote, the council decided to put the matter before the voters.

“Let’s just put it in their hands and let them decide,” said Councilman George Runner.

Runner, whose motion was supported by Mayor Frank Roberts and Councilman Henry Hearns, argued that a directly elected mayor, serving a two- or four-year term, would be a stronger city spokesman and provide more continuity in city leadership.

Council members Michael Singer and Deborah Shelton voted against Runner’s plan, primarily because they were concerned about how quickly it would take effect. If voters approve the change, they will directly elect a mayor in April, 1996.

“I would like to pursue it, but not in this fashion,” Singer said.

He said the timing proposed by Runner would make for an awkward transition because only two council seats are at stake in the 1996 city election. If voters approve the new system, one of these seats would have to be reserved for the mayor, leaving voters to elect just one council member.

Singer said he would prefer to see the election of a mayor delayed until April, 1998, when three seats will be at stake. That would allow Lancaster to follow the schedule used by nearby Palmdale and other cities that choose a mayor and two council members every two years.

Singer also complained that a midstream change would be unfair to him and Shelton, who were elected with the expectation that they would get a turn as mayor without having to run for the office.

Under the existing rotation system, Runner is slated to take his turn as mayor next month, followed a year later by Singer. If voters decide to change the system in November, Singer would lose his turn.

Singer charged that Runner wanted the rules to change immediately after Runner gets his turn as mayor.

Runner and Hearns countered that they both favored a switch to direct election of the mayor several years ago, but were unable to get a crucial third vote at that time.

Under the plan approved Monday night, Lancaster voters will be asked Nov. 7 if the city should elect its mayor directly and if so, the length of the mayor’s term--two or four years.

City Clerk Barbara Howard said it will cost about $10,000 to put this issue on the November ballot. If the council had waited until the next city election in April, 1996, she said, the cost would have been about $5,000.

The difference in cost is due to the fact that the county will be overseeing the November election, while the April election will be managed by the city.

In another matter brought before the city body at Monday’s meeting, council members took no action on a proposed new law that would have required ice cream trucks and other vendors to stay at least 500 feet from local schools.

Lancaster School District officials had complained that vendors create traffic jams and safety hazards near campuses. But numerous vendors told the council that the law would hurt their businesses.

City Council members voted 5 to 0 to urge school district officials to meet with vendors to try to reduce traffic and safety hazards, and also meet with parents to gauge their views on the matter.