Commission:

Huntington Beach’s Charter Review Commission, a group of 15 citizens appointed this year to evaluate city policies, has recommended that the mayor be elected specially by voters and serve a four-year term.

The commission voted 7-6 with two members absent at its Oct. 20 meeting. Pat Dapkus, a senior administrative analyst for the city and the commission’s staff liaison, said the mayor would have the same powers as under the current system, in which the City Council appoints one of its members for a one-year term, but would be a more prestigious figure on the state and county level. The commission also recommended that the mayor have a two-term limit.

“The argument that is made in favor of directly electing is that the voters are selecting the mayor,” she said. “Also, if you look around the county, those mayors who are directly elected have a greater regional presence, because they’re in office for a longer period of time and can get involved in issues at the regional level.”

In February or March, Dapkus said, the commission plans to pass all its recommendations on to the City Council. The council can reject any or all of them, but any changes that it approves will have to go before voters, possibly in the November 2010 general election.