Early voting is underway, and McKinney residents are answering a controversial question: Should council members be eligible to run for a third term?
The proposed change to the city’s charter is one of four propositions on the ballot. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5, and early voting runs through Friday, Nov. 1. Here is what McKinney voters can expect in the city’s charter election.
Four propositions
Proposition A would increase the mayor and City Council term limits from two to three consecutive four-year terms beginning with the 2025 council election.
Proposition B would change the charter to pay newly elected council members $750 per month and a newly elected mayor $1,000 per month beginning Oct. 1, 2025. The council and mayor currently are paid $50 for each posted council meeting they attend, according to the city charter. The mayor also receives $100 per month.
Proposition C would change the charter to correct “non-substantive” errors like misspellings, punctuation and grammar. It would also fix references to outdated state law, “harmonize conflicting sections” and update notice and publication requirements to follow state law.
Proposition D would change the charter to delete provisions, practices and policies that the city no longer uses.
What’s controversial?
Proposition A has received backlash from community members. Some see the change as a power grab from Mayor George Fuller, who can only run for office again in May 2025 if voters approve the charter amendment.
Some also take issue with the ballot’s wording of the proposition, which doesn’t specify that allowing three consecutive terms increases how long a council member can stay in office.
Others are concerned with the process by which council members put Proposition A up for election. A commission of community members tasked with reviewing the city’s charter did not make a recommendation for or against adding it to the ballot.
Bill Cox, chair of McKinney’s planning and zoning commission, was the review commission’s chairperson.
“We lacked a consensus to recommend to the city council one way or the other,” Cox said. “It was virtually 50/50 regarding extending or leaving the number of terms where they currently are. We recommended to the council that they simply review and consider that we did not have a recommendation.”
Tammy Warren was an appointed member of the commission. She leads McKinney Values, a conservative political action committee.
“We gave them our findings with no recommendation,” Warren said. “They just decided to put it before the voters anyway.”
Debating term limits
Those who favor extending term limits for the council say more tenured, experienced leaders will serve the growing city well, especially for long-term infrastructure projects.
Fuller supports Proposition A and said he would consider running for mayor again if the amendment passes. He disagrees with the opposition who say extending term limits is a “power grab.”
“Power grab of what?” Fuller asked. “You still have to be elected by the people. … Those who are in favor [of Proposition A] will believe that extending the terms empowers the voter to have a choice, a choice that they didn’t have before.”
Tom Michero is the treasurer of Keep McKinney Unique, a political committee against Proposition A. He has raised thousands of dollars for a campaign opposing the charter amendment. Like many opposed to extending term limits, he sees the value in more turnover in leadership.
“For there to be a vibrant democracy, there needs to be voter participation and enthusiasm for the political process,” Michero said. “The longer that a politician gets to sit in office, the less that happens because they’re more entrenched in their power.”
Proposition B, an amendment that will increase council members’ pay, has received less opposition than Proposition A.
Voters will decide on the propositions through Election Day on Tuesday, Nov. 5. Early voting in Collin County takes place from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday. On Saturday, polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. From Monday through Friday, Nov. 1, voting centers are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
