Lincoln voters could be presented with competing versions of two proposed charter amendments in November after Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird and City Council Chair Brodey Weber announced alternatives to citizen-led proposals concerning city elections and council term limits.
Gaylor Baird and Weber outlined the proposals Monday morning ahead of a City Council meeting where the alternatives are scheduled to be introduced. The move follows a Nebraska Supreme Court ruling ordering three charter amendments proposed by Good Government Lincoln onto the November ballot. Those measures would move city elections to even-numbered years, establish term limits for City Council members and allow some residents living within Lincoln’s three-mile extraterritorial jurisdiction to vote in municipal elections.
The city’s first alternative would also move municipal elections to even-numbered years, but with a different transition period. Under the citizen proposal, elections would be held in 2027 and again in 2028, resulting in terms of about one year and eight months for the mayor and district council members elected next year. The city alternative would instead hold the next election in 2027 and the following election in 2030, giving those officeholders terms of about three years and eight months.
Gaylor Baird said the City Council has the authority to offer voters alternatives to citizen-proposed charter amendments. “It’s a part of our system of checks and balances,” she said. “If you recall, the threshold for petitions to be placed on the ballot for a charter amendment is very low.” She said the council can act as a balancing force when members believe a proposed amendment would not be in Lincoln’s best interest.
The second city alternative concerns City Council term limits. Good Government Lincoln’s proposal would limit council members to two consecutive four-year terms. The city proposal would instead allow three consecutive terms, matching the existing limit for Lincoln’s mayor. Gaylor Baird argued having the same limits for the mayor and council would provide consistency.
If both a citizen-proposed amendment and the corresponding city alternative receive majority support, Gaylor Baird said the competing measures would not both take effect. “It’s our understanding that the one with the most votes wins,” she said.
The city is not proposing an alternative to the third Good Government Lincoln amendment, which would extend voting rights in certain municipal elections to residents of Lincoln’s extraterritorial jurisdiction. Weber urged voters to reject that proposal, arguing it would give people who live outside Lincoln and do not pay city property taxes a voice in city elections.
Gaylor Baird and Weber sharply criticized Good Government Lincoln throughout Monday’s news conference, describing its proposals as politically motivated. Gaylor Baird also criticized the Supreme Court decision, saying the ruling interferes with Lincoln’s home-rule process and could create confusion over future charter petitions submitted close to an election.
The competing amendments are being introduced as the city works on an unusually compressed timeline ahead of the Nov. 3 election. Weber said the council intends to move the alternatives forward as quickly as possible following the Supreme Court ruling.