To elect or select the mayor — that is the question. For Goleta voters, C2016 on this November’s ballot is a measure to decide whether to move to an elected mayor for Goleta and, if so, whether it should be for a two-year or a four-year term.
For the city's first 15 years, Goleta's mayor has been selected or appointed by the five councilmembers at the first meeting in December. In practice, the position has rotated among the councilmembers each year. However there is nothing to prevent the appointment being for two or more years, as is the case in Carpinteria. The remaining six cities in the county have elected mayors, some for two and some for four-year terms.
On its face, a mayoral election would seem a minor change in procedure for Goleta, with the advantage that the people could choose whom they wanted to be the public representative of the city. Of course, under the current system, the public can already weigh in at the December meeting about whom they would like to see as mayor, and the council can appoint that person for two or more years if they so wished.