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In a small town where City Council members have largely run unopposed to hold leadership positions, La Palma voters are on track to increase city council term limits and extend the careers of incumbent politicians.
Known as Measure W, it could increase term limits of up to 20 years for incumbents.
If approved, the measure sets term limits up to three consecutive four-year terms for local legislators – while restarting the clock for council members already in office.
The latest results at 5 p.m. Monday showed roughly 58% of voters in favor of Measure W, holding 3,916 votes. About 42% of voters were opposed to it – a 1,083 voting margin.
The push for longer city council term limits came back in February from incumbent La Palma City Council members – something city officials claim is needed to help maintain city leadership as participation in running for public office is low.
Those same city council members primarily funded the ‘Yes on W’ campaign.
It’s all happening in a town that’s home to roughly 15,000 residents – 10,000 of which are registered voters, according to the OC Registrar of Voters.
While one of Orange County’s smallest towns, La Palma is also one of the last cities that doesn’t stream city council meetings.
In a February city council meeting, Mayor Marshall Goodman said “something needed to be done” about so many officials running unopposed.
He ran unopposed in 2016.
“It’s been nearly 30 years since this topic was last presented,” said Councilman Nitesh Patel at a July city council meeting, referring to a ballot initiative from 1996. “Many of the people who lived in La Palma back then may have moved out, but more importantly the circumstances have changed.”
At the same meeting, La Palma City Council Members voted 4-1 to put Measure W on the November ballot.
Yet not every city leader was for the change.
In a Nov. 7 phone interview, Councilwoman Janet Keo – the sole dissenting vote on putting the measure before voters – said that “residents did not call for the term increase” and was instead pushed by her council colleagues.
Keo said her colleagues should focus on bigger issues like increasing transparency and streaming their council meetings for residents.
[Read: Why Won’t Officials in Two OC Cities Video Livestream Their Public Meetings?]
“It’s deceptive and not transparent,” Keo said, referring to campaign signs positioning the ballot measure as an issue of public safety and calls to “reform government,” versus extending the careers of politicians.
Mayor Goodman – who acknowledged opposition from residents on adding term limits during a February regular meeting – declined to comment when approached by a reporter at an Oct. 22 city event.
He said he stood by his statements made at prior city council meetings, but did not respond to questions about the city’s future whether or not Measure W is passed by voters.
Who Was Backing Measure W in The La Palma Elections?
Campaign statements obtained from the city via public records request show that the ‘Yes on W’ campaign garnered $26,500 in funding – most of it coming from two sitting city council members: Nitesh Patel and Debbie Baker.
La Palma requires a public records request to see campaign finance documents, which other cities post that data publicly through an official city website.
According to the campaign finance data obtained through public records requests, another city council candidate also added funds to the campaign: Patel’s brother, Vikesh Patel – who secured La Palma’s District 3 seat this election year running unopposed. He did not respond to calls for comment.
Councilman Nitesh Patel and his wife contributed $11,000 to help pay for mailers and fliers. Another person by the name of Prit Patel, who is retired also with the same address, donated $2,500.
On the flip side, the ‘No on W’ campaign has received about $4,300 in contributions, roughly six times less than the campaign funded by incumbent city council members.
After being called by a Voice of OC reporter on Oct. 22, Councilman Patel refused to answer questions relating to Measure W and his financial backing. He also declined answering phone calls, texts and emails later in the week.
Patel also declined answering questions relating to city council candidates in this year’s election, including if family members working side-by-side on La Palma City Council requires further transparency when conducting business at City Hall.
Councilwoman Baker, who also kept her City Council seat this election year running unopposed in District 1, did not respond to calls from a Voice of OC reporter.
She contributed $5,500 to help fund the campaign to extend council term limits, in which she is set to serve her second term.
Councilman Mark Waldman also did not respond to requests for comment.
What’s at Stake for Residents?
Under the city’s municipal code, La Palma City Council members can only serve two consecutive four-year terms and can run for office again after a four-year absence, which was ratified by voters in 1996.
In the city’s first election since switching to district elections in 2022, city leaders proposed updating the code to allow for three consecutive city council terms – which allows for a clean slate of current City Council members and takes into effect starting next year, according to the city’s website.
With a majority of the City Council on board with Measure W, some have pushed back on what it could mean for La Palma.
Robert Carruth, a La Palma resident and head of the ‘La Palma Residents for Fair Elections’ campaign – the organization backing against the ballot measure – said in a phone interview prior to Election Night that city officials are largely “disconnected from the people they represent.”
He added that council members are ignoring how residents rejected the notion of extending city council term limits when brought up by La Palma City Council in 2019 – something both Mayor Marshall Goodman and Councilmember Patel first advocated for back then.
Carruth said the move is about one thing.
“Ultimately, I think it’s a power grab.”
Hugo Rios is a Voice of OC reporting fellow. Contact him at hugo.toni.rios@gmail.com or on Twitter @hugoriosss.
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