The Council

San Diego City Charter § 12

in effect

Section 12: The Council (a) The Council shall be the legislative body of the City and each of its members shall have the right to vote upon all questions before it. (b) Council members shall hold office for the term of four (4) years from and after 10 a.m. on the tenth day of December next succeeding their election and until their successors are elected and qualified. If the tenth day of December falls on a weekend or holiday, the term shall begin at 10 a.m. on the next calendar day that is not a weekend or a holiday. (c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Charter, no person shall serve more than two four-year terms as a Council member. If for any reason a person serves a partial term as Councilmember in excess of two (2) years, that partial term shall be considered a full term for purposes of this term limit provision. (d) Upon any redistricting pursuant to the provisions of this Charter, incumbent Council members will continue to represent the district they were elected to serve for the remainder of their current term. At the next municipal primary and general elections following a redistricting, Council members shall be elected from those districts not represented and from those districts represented by incumbent Council members whose terms expire as of the general election in that year. If, as a result of any redistricting, more than a simple majority of the City Council as redistricted shall be elected at either the municipal primary or general election next following any such redistricting, the City Council prior to any such election shall designate one or more new districts for which the initial council term shall be two years in order to retain staggered terms for Council members. (e) It is the duty of the Council members to attend all Council meetings. The Council shall vacate the seat of any Councilmember who is absent from eight (8) consecutive meetings or fifty percent (50%) of any scheduled meetings within a month unless the absence thereof is excused by resolution of the Council. (f) Council members shall devote full time to the duties of their office and not engage in any outside employment, trade, business or profession which interferes or conflicts with those duties. (g) Council members shall not be eligible during the term for which they were appointed or elected to hold any other office or employment with the City, except as a member of any Board, Commission or Committee thereof, of which they are constituted such a member by general law or by this Charter. (h) Whenever a vacancy exists in the office of a Councilmember, the chief of staff for the departing Councilmember shall manage the office of the Councilmember under the authority of the Council President, until a replacement is appointed or elected pursuant to the procedures for filling vacancies provided by this Charter. (Amendment voted 11-08-1949; effective 12-20-1949.) (Amendment voted 06-05-1956; effective 01-10-1957.) (Amendment voted 11-06-1962; effective 01-21-1963.) (Amendment voted 09-17-1963; effective 02-11-1964.) (Amendment voted 11-04-1969; effective 01-29-1970.) (Amendment voted 11-05-1974; effective 12-01-1975.) (Amendment voted 11-04-1975; effective 12-01-1975.) (Amendment voted 11-06-1979; effective 12-17-1979.) (Amendment voted 11-08-1988; effective 04-03-1989.) (Amendment voted 11-06-1990; effective 02-19-1991.) (Amendment voted 06-02-1992; effective 07-13-1992.) (Amendment voted 11-03-1992; effective 12-18-1992.) (Amendment voted 06-07-1994; effective 08-18-1994.) (Section 12(a) was superseded by section 270 from 01-01-2006 through 07-30-2010.) (Amendment voted 06-08-2010; effective 07-30-2010; see section 270.) (Amendment voted 06-03-2014; effective 07-24-2014.) (Amendment voted 06-07-2016; effective 07-18-2016.) (Amendment voted 11-08-2016; effective 12-19-2016.) (Amendments voted 11-06-2018; effective 12-24-2018.)

Source: City of San Diego Office of the City Clerk, San Diego Municipal Code and City Charter (docs.sandiego.gov PDFs)URL: https://docs.sandiego.gov/citycharter/Article%20III.pdf#page=2Fetched: 10/28/2026