(a) 
The elective officers of the City shall consist of a City Council, consisting of six Council members and a Mayor.
(b) 
The term "City Council," "Council," "legislative body," or other similar terms as used in this Charter or any other provision of law shall be deemed to refer to the collective body composed of the Mayor and six City Council members unless another provision of this Charter or other law expressly provides to the contrary.
(Amended effective May 20, 1957, December 21, 1976 and May 7, 2020)
(a) 
Commencing with the general municipal election of November 2020, the City Councilmembers shall be residents of their respective Districts, as established pursuant to Section 602, and nominated and elected only by the voters of their respective Districts. The Mayor shall be directly elected by the voters of the City. The elective officers shall be elected at the times and in the manner provided in this Charter. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Charter, members of the City Council in office at the time this Charter provision takes effect shall continue in office until the expiration of their respective terms.
(b) 
The Mayor and each member of the City Council shall be elected at the General Municipal Election for a term of four years. The term shall commence at the first regular meeting in January, at which the City Council shall certify the election results, and shall continue until a successor is qualified.
(c) 
The offices of Mayor and member of the Council are separate elective offices to be separately filled at any election. The person receiving the highest number of all the votes cast for a particular elective office at any election shall be deemed and declared elected to that office.
(Amended effective January 14, 1955, July 8, 1968, December 31, 1975, December 21, 1976, January 17, 1992, November 30, 1995, November 28, 2007, December 16, 2013 and May 7, 2020: previously Section 700)
District-based elections established in accordance with this section shall commence in the November 2020 general election. To elect the members of the City Council commencing with the November 2020 general municipal election, the City shall be divided into single-member districts equal in number to the number of City Council members, exclusive of the Mayor (each such district a "District" and, collectively, "Districts"). The City Council shall by ordinance establish the names and respective boundaries of the Districts that shall be used for the election of the Councilmembers, and the transition plan from at-large elections to District elections. The Districts shall comply with applicable laws and such other permissible criteria as the City Council may specify.
(Amended effective May 7, 2020)
(a) 
No person shall be eligible to hold office as the Mayor unless he/she shall be a registered voter of the City at the time of and for the thirty-day period immediately preceding filing of his or her nominating papers or such other equivalent declaration of candidacy as may be required or authorized by law, or at the time of, and for the thirty-day period immediately preceding, his or her appointment to such office, and throughout the full term of his or her office, if elected or appointed.
(b) 
No person shall be eligible to hold office as a member of the City Council unless he/she shall be a registered voter of the District at the time of and for the thirty-day period immediately preceding filing of his or her nominating papers or such other equivalent declaration of candidacy as may be required or authorized by law, or at the time of, and for the thirty-day period immediately preceding, his or her appointment to such office, and throughout the full term of his or her office, if elected or appointed.
(c) 
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a candidate shall not file nomination papers for more than one City elective office for the same election.
(Amended effective December 31, 1975, December 21, 1976, December 23, 1982, November 30, 1995, November 28, 2007 and May 7, 2020: previously Section 701)
(a) 
No person shall be eligible to serve as Mayor or a member of the Council for more than three successive four-year elective terms of which no more than two terms can be as mayor and no more than two terms can be as a member of the Council.
(b) 
Any person who has served three successive four-year elective terms as Mayor or member of the Council as permitted by this subsection (a) above shall not serve again until at least four years have passed since that person last held office. Any Mayor or member of the Council elected or appointed to a term of two years or more shall constitute a four-year elective term for the purposes of this section.
(c) 
Any person who serves a four-year elective term and is either not re-elected or does not run for election for a second or third successive term is eligible to serve after two years have passed since that person last held office as Mayor or Councilmember. Subject to the provisions of subsection (a) above, any person may serve as Mayor or Councilmember for twelve years in any sixteen-year period, unless elected or appointed to serve an unexpired term of less than two years in length as provided in this section.
(Amended effective May 7, 2020)
In addition to reimbursement for necessary traveling and other expenses actually incurred when on official duty in or out of the City on order of the City Council, commencing January 1, 2012, each member of the City Council shall receive as salary $2,088.64 per month, and the Mayor shall receive as salary $2,784.86 per month.
In order to provide a cost of living adjustment, commencing on January 1, 2013, and annually on January 1 thereafter, the compensation of the Council and Mayor shall increase by a percentage equal to the percentage increase in the preceding October's twelve-month rolling average of the Consumer Price Index-Urban(CPI-U), or successor index, for San FranciscoOakland-San Jose, as determined by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Consumers. In no event shall the CPIU compensation adjustment exceed five percent per year, or result in a compensation decrease. The CPI-U base index year shall be calendar year 2012.
If a member of the City Council does not attend all meetings of the City Council called on order of the City Council and held during the month, his/her salary for such month shall be reduced by the sum equivalent to twenty percent of the month's salary for each meeting not attended unless he/she is absent on official duty with the consent of or on order of the City Council or is granted an excused absence by the City Council, or unless he/she is on personal leave. A member of the City Council shall be permitted four personal leave days per calendar year.
(Amended effective May 20, 1957, January 23, 1967, December 31, 1975, December 21, 1976, March 15, 1985, January 17, 1992, February 15, 2012 and May 7, 2020: previously Section 702)
(a) 
In addition to any other cause from which vacancies in the City Council may occur, the office of the Mayor or Councilmember shall become vacant when that official:
(1) 
Resigns or dies;
(2) 
Is absent from all regular meetings of the Council for a period of sixty days consecutively from and after the last regular Council meeting attended by such member, unless by permission of the Council expressed in its official minutes;
(3) 
Is convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude;
(4) 
Ceases to be an elector of the City of Sunnyvale;
(5) 
Ceases to maintain his/her principal place of residence within the City limits, and/or within the applicable District boundaries for a member elected by District, during such official's term of office; or
(6) 
Is involuntarily removed pursuant to Article II of the Constitution of the State of California, as may be amended from time to time.
(b) 
In the event of a vacancy in the office of Mayor or Councilmember, the Council shall officially declare the office vacant within thirty days of the commencement of any vacancy.
(c) 
Within sixty days of the date the office is officially declared vacant, the City Council shall, by affirmative vote of at least four of the remaining Councilmembers, elect to fill the vacancy by appointment or by calling an election.
(d) 
If the vacancy is filled by appointment, the appointee shall hold office until the next General Municipal Election or Special Municipal Election consolidated with the next statewide election, whichever occurs sooner, and a successor is elected and qualified. The Councilmember then elected shall serve for the remainder of any unexpired term, and until a successor is elected and qualified.
(e) 
The City Council shall adopt an ordinance establishing a public process for appointment.
(f) 
If the City Council elects to fill the vacancy by election or fails to fill the vacancy by appointment, it shall call an election to be held within two hundred and forty days of the date the vacancy is declared.
(g) 
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the City Council shall not make an appointment to fill a vacancy if the appointment would result in more than two Council members or one Councilmember and the Mayor currently serving on the Council as appointees, and shall call a Special Municipal Election to be held within one hundred and eighty days from the date the Council declares the vacancy.
(Amended effective December 31, 1975, December 21, 1976, December 23, 1982, January 17, 1992, December 21, 2018 and May 7, 2020 and May 7, 2020: previously Section 703)
The Mayor shall be the presiding officer of the City Council and have a voice and vote in all its proceedings. He/she shall be the official head of the City for all ceremonial purposes. He/she shall perform such other duties as may be prescribed by this Charter or as may be imposed by the City Council consistent with his/her office.
(Amended effective December 31, 1975, December 21, 1976, December 21, 1987, November 30, 1995, November 28, 2007, December 16, 2013 and May 7, 2020: previously Section 704)
At the first regular meeting in January, at which the City Council shall certify the election results, following each General Municipal Election, and the first regular meeting in January in odd-numbered years, the City Council shall also designate one of its members as Vice Mayor. The Vice Mayor shall perform the duties of the Mayor during his/her absence or disability.
(Amended effective December 31, 1975, December 21, 1976, December 23, 1982, November 30, 1995, November 28, 2007 and May 7, 2020: previously Section 705)
(a) 
Following each decennial federal census, and at other such times as provided by law, the boundaries of any or all the Districts of the City shall be adjusted so that the Districts shall be as nearly equal in population as may be, consistent with law applicable to the creation and rearrangement of the boundaries of local districts.
(b) 
The City Council shall adopt an ordinance establishing a public process for redistricting. Such ordinance shall be adopted in sufficient time for redistricting following release of the 2020 federal Census.
(c) 
No change in the boundary of any District shall abolish or terminate the term of office of any City Council member prior to the expiration of the term of office for which the member was elected or appointed in lieu of election, notwithstanding any other provision of this Article.
(Amended effective May 7, 2020)
The City Council shall hold regular meetings at least twice each month, at such times as it shall fix by ordinance or resolution and may adjourn or readjourn any regular meeting to a date certain, which shall be specified in the order of adjournment and when so adjourned, each adjourned meeting shall be a regular meeting for all purposes.
(Amended effective December 21, 1976 and May 7, 2020: previously Section 707)
Special meetings may be called at any time by the Mayor, or by four members of the City Council pursuant to Government Code Section 54956. Written notice may be delivered personally or by mail or facsimile or electronic means. The call and notice shall specify the time and place of the meeting if held at other than the location specified in Section 610. A telegraphic, facsimile or electronic communication from a member consenting to the holding of a meeting shall be considered a consent in writing.
In the case of an emergency situation involving matters upon which prompt action is necessary due to the disruption or threatened disruption of public facilities, the City Council may hold an emergency meeting without complying with the twenty-four-hour notice requirements pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.5.
(Amended effective December 21, 1976, December 23, 1982 and May 7, 2020: previously Section 708)
All meetings shall be convened in the Council Chambers of the City Hall, or at such other location as has been legally noticed, but may be thereafter adjourned to such other location as may be selected by the City Council. All meetings of the City Council shall be open to the public; with the exception of closed sessions as authorized by law. If, by reason of fire, flood or other emergency, it shall be unsafe to meet in the place designated, the meetings may be held for the duration of the emergency at such place as is designated by the Mayor, or, if he/she should fail to act, by four members of the City Council.
(Amended effective December 31, 1975, December 21, 1976 and November 28, 2007 and May 7, 2020: previously Section 709)
A majority of the members of the City Council shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, but a lesser number may adjourn from time to time.
(Amended effective December 21, 1976 and May 7, 2020: previously Section 710)
The City Council shall judge the qualifications of its members as required by Section 602 of the Charter and shall certify all election returns.
(Amended effective December 21, 1976, November 28, 2007 and May 7, 2020: previously Section 711)
The City Council shall establish rules for the conduct of its proceedings and may sanction members or other persons for disorderly or improper conduct at any meeting. It shall have the power and authority to compel the attendance of witnesses, to examine them under oath, and to compel the production of evidence before it. Subpoenas may be issued in the name of the City and be attested by the City Clerk. Disobedience of such subpoenas, or the refusal to testify (upon other than constitutional grounds), shall constitute a misdemeanor.
The City Clerk shall cause the publication, in a newspaper widely circulated within the City, or on a City Website accessible through Internet or other appropriate technology, of items listed on the agenda prepared for regular meetings of the City Council which the City Manager shall deem of significance or of interest to the residents of Sunnyvale. Such publication or Internet distribution shall be in accordance with procedures which shall be established by ordinance of the City Council, and shall be designed to provide reasonable public notice in a manner which will permit current information to be disseminated widely within the City. In addition, the City Clerk shall furnish the City Library with at least two sets of packets containing materials in support of agenda items at the same time that such materials are made available to the members of the City Council; confidential or otherwise privileged materials shall be excluded therefrom. Nothing contained in this section shall prevent the City Council from taking action on any item not shown on such agenda, nor shall failure to comply with any provision of this section invalidate any action taken by the City Council.
The City Clerk shall keep an accurate record of all its proceedings and, at the demand of any member, or upon the adoption of any ordinance or resolution for the payment of money, the City Clerk shall call the roll and shall cause the "ayes" and "noes" taken on any question, to be entered in the minutes of the meetings. In any event, the City Clerk shall keep such records and shall make such entries into the minutes of the meetings necessary for publication or Internet distribution in accordance with the provisions set forth below.
The City Clerk shall cause the publication or Internet distribution of the minutes of the regular and special meeting of the City Council or of the digest of those actions taken at such meetings which the City Manager shall deem of significance or of interest to the residents of Sunnyvale, excepting therefrom matters which may not be disclosed as a result of recognized legal privileges. Such publication or Internet distribution shall be in accordance with the procedures established by ordinance, pursuant to this section, for the publication of the City Council agenda.
Such publication or Internet distribution shall occur within a reasonable time after such meetings. The minutes or the digest of the actions taken, as hereinabove described, shall include, but not be limited to, a description of the items of the agenda acted upon in sufficient detail to inform the public of the nature of the action taken, the vote on such items and the names of the members of the Council voting for or against each item. Absences, together with abstentions and the reasons therefor, shall also be published.
(Amended effective December 31, 1975, December 21, 1976, December 23, 1982, November 28, 2007 and May 7, 2020: previously Section 712)