Mountain View to put governance change and boards/commissions questions on Nov. 3 ballot

Mountain View — The Town Council voted unanimously on June 15 to place two charter questions before voters on Nov. 3, 2026: whether to change the town’s governance structure to a council–manager form and whether to remove charter language requiring voter approval to create boards and commissions so the council can establish them by ordinance.

Town Attorney Austin reviewed draft ballot language and explained the redline changes that would result if the questions pass. Council members discussed clarity — including punctuation and the explanatory clause that begins "this means among other things" — and requested two wording edits: replace a comma with a semicolon before the explanatory clause in question one, and add "town council" before the word "ordinance" in question two. The council agreed those edits would help voters understand the effect of a "yes" vote.

The council also approved a separate resolution to formally call the special election, as required by the charter. The vote to place the questions and to call the election was unanimous.

Council member Devner and others asked staff to prepare the clerk’s explanatory "blue book" language that will accompany the ballot so voters have neutral background information on what a yes or no vote would mean. The attorney said the clerk drafts the informational materials and outside advocacy groups may also submit pro and con statements per state campaign finance rules.

What happens next: staff will return a redlined charter text and final ballot language for second reading and produce the clerk’s explanatory materials for the ballot package.