Chandler Council puts term-limit rule on Nov. 4 ballot
Independent Newsmedia/Jason W. Brooks
Former Chandler City Council member Martin Sepulveda speaks during the Chandler City Council’s June 2 special meeting. Council approved, by a 6-1 vote, a proposed charter amendment about mayoral and council term limits and eligibility.
Two items were approved by the Chandler City Council at a June 2 special open meeting that could have lasting effects on the way the city conducts elections and other business.
Council voted 6-1 to put a batch of proposed new charter language about mayor and council term limits and eligibility on the Nov. 4 ballot for voter approval.
The council also voted — unanimously — to create a city charter amendment resident advisory committee charged with reviewing and identify potential amendments to the city’s charter. Council is to review volunteer submissions for the nine-person committee during its Thursday, June 12, meeting.
The issues stem from apparent inconsistency within the city’s charter that developed during conversations about current officials running for different offices in 2026. Toward the end of a nearly four-hour May 22 regular meeting, council unanimously decided to table a measure to put an amendment on the November ballot.
Mayor Kevin Hartke, who said the ballot measure and the advisory committee would “compliment each other, rather than compete,” will reach the end of his 16th year of consecutive mayor and council service in January 2027. That 16-year cap is a main component of the ballot measure, though there appears to have been considerable rewriting of the proposal since the May 22 meeting.
Councilmember Matt Orlando, who motioned May 22 to table the proposal to “hash out the language,” will reach the end of his second four-year consecutive term on council at the end of 2026. If the ballot measure passes, it appears Orlando would be able to run for mayor in 2026 without what Chandler City Attorney Kelly Schwab calls “ambiguous” language in the text.
The public’s opinion as to whether the language is ambiguous seems mixed.
Ruth Jones, who was easily defeated in the 2022 mayoral election that gave Hartke his second term, spoke at both the May 22 and June 2 meetings, saying the language is clear and Hartke never should have been allowed to run for mayor in 2018 while still serving on council.
An executive closed session is to get legal counsel in pending litigation regarding a case the city refers to as Jones v. city of Chandler et al was held just before the June 2 special meeting. The case recently was filed lawsuit by Jones, who is calling for Hartke to resign immediately.
Hartke told the Chandler Independent he has no plans to resign nor to seek any city office in 2026.
Most councilors wanted to take quick action on the matter. Councilmember Angel Encinas said he cannot “wait while my mayor’s eligibility is being challenged, because that’s not who we are.”
Councilmember Jane Poston told the Independent after the June 2 meeting that she’s “surprised” no action had been taken until this spring to deal with what Schwab calls language that’s “out of alignment.”
One supporter of putting the amendment on the ballot this November called it fiscally responsible. The Nov. 4 ballot will have a $475 million set of four bond questions for voters and a city manager termination policy change charter amendment, with the Chandler Unified School District possibly planning to split the cost of an off-year election with the city.
Some former council members spoke during the June 2 meeting, including Martin Sepulveda. Hawkins asked Sepulveda what sort of public input process was involved in a 1997 charter amendment action, which he didn’t answer directly, saying he received many phone calls in the days after council voted to put an amendment on the ballot.
Hawkins, the lone “no” vote on the amendment, asked at the May 22 meeting if amendments had ever been moved to the ballot with such swift procedures.
Jason W. Brooks News Editor | Chandler Independent
Jason W. Brooks joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in July 2021 as an associate editor. After a year covering Buckeye, he has covered Chandler since the fall of 2022, in addition to assisting the Daily Independent throughout his time at INI.
Education: University of New Mexico, bachelor of arts in journalism and mass communication, print emphasis, English minor.
Random Fact: He and his siblings witnessed a Space Shuttle launch and landing in the same year in person, on opposite coasts.
Hobbies: Karaoke, bicycling and American Sign Language.
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