Alameda voters decide Measure M on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. The City Council measure amends 18 sections of the City Charter and repeals two more, which City Attorney Yibin Shen describes as bringing the charter in line with existing practice and removing outdated provisions. It is one all-or-nothing vote and needs a simple majority.

Why it matters: Supporters call it cleanup. The lone signed opponent, Councilmember Tony Daysog, says a few changes are real policy shifts that deserved their own public debate.

What a yes vote changes

According to the impartial analysis:

  • At-will executives: department heads and similar executives appointed by the city manager, city attorney or city clerk serve at the pleasure of the person who appointed them, without civil service protection. The council could also create support-staff positions for elected officials that are likewise at-will.
  • Vacancies: the council can name an interim city attorney, city manager or city clerk; incumbents can name a stand-in in advance; and the mayor can make an interim appointment if a sudden vacancy comes first.
  • Lawsuits: only the council can authorize the city attorney to file litigation for the city.
  • Boards: one Public Utilities Board member (the board overseeing Alameda Municipal Power) must be an electrical, civil, environmental or mechanical engineer, or one with alternative-energy experience. The Historical Advisory Board gets updated member qualifications. The Planning Board's role is spelled out as making recommendations on land use, subdivisions and zoning.
  • City Auditor: some auditor duties are removed, such as reviewing quarterly budget reports (the finance director does this now).

California Choices, citing the city and the League of Women Voters of Alameda, adds that the measure would extend the council's window to fill an auditor or treasurer vacancy from 24 to 60 days, require board members to be at least 18, and repeal the rule barring board members from being paid. It lists no expected fiscal impact. A no vote leaves every affected section as it is.

Supporters

Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, Vice Mayor Michele Pryor, Councilmember Greg Boller and Open Government Commission member Evan Shwartz signed the argument in favor. "This measure is careful housekeeping—not a restructuring of City government," they write, saying it removes obsolete dates, references to agencies that no longer exist and redundant requirements.

Opponents

Daysog, who is also running for mayor, signed the argument against. He says the full council discussed the changes at only one meeting, after a subcommittee of Ashcraft and Pryor drafted them without prior public input. He also objects to two specific changes: removing the word "electors" from Section 10-6, which he says drops citizenship and voter eligibility as requirements for many city boards (a change he says he supports in principle but wants debated openly), and shifting the choice of the outside auditor for Alameda Municipal Power from the elected City Auditor to the council.

More on the Alameda ballot

Alameda voters also decide Measure N on city property leases and the $300 million Measure L bond, plus the mayor and council races. See the full Election 2026 guide.