A 58.9 percent majority of voters shot down the proposal in the California primary. About 9,000 voters opposed Measure B, compared to approximately 6,300 who supported it.
Under the current system, the city council votes to appoint one of its own seven councilors to serve as mayor for one year. Measure B proposed to reduce the number of council districts from seven to six and allow local residents to vote directly for the mayor in an at-large election and lengthen the mayoral terms to four years.
The initiative would have set lifetime term limits of two four-year terms for mayors and prohibited a mayor from running for a seat on the city council for the term of office immediately following their mayoral stint.
The measure would have given the mayor the power to set the agenda for each council meeting, rather than the city manager. It would also allow any three councilors the joint power to add agenda items.
Opponents of the measure include several former Newport Beach mayors and city councilors, environmental groups, and other city leaders.
Line in the Sand, a political action committee created by the board of a conservation group called Still Protecting Our Newport, donated $15,000 to defeat the measure. Another group called “No Elected Mayor” raised $91,000 to oppose it.
City Councilman Will O’Neill, who served as mayor in 2020, headed a group called Elect Our Mayor, which raised $93,000 to support the measure.
