Lancaster Weighs Voter Selection of Mayor
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The Lancaster City Council has given tentative approval to a ballot measure that would ask voters if they want to elect a mayor instead of having council members rotate the job among themselves.
The 3-2 vote Monday night followed weeks of bickering on the subject by council members. The issue arose because the council this year again bypassed giving the largely ceremonial job to Councilman George Theophanis, who is considered disruptive by a majority of the council.
Theophanis and Councilman Arnie Rodio had favored an ordinance previously backed by the council to guarantee rotation of the job. But Mayor Henry Hearns and Councilmen William Pursley and George Root opted instead for the April, 1992, ballot measure.
Voters in neighboring Palmdale already directly elect their mayor every two years.
The Lancaster council did not elaborate on details of its proposed ballot measure.
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