V.1. First Reading Ordinance Amending Chapter 2 of the Hopkins Charter (Mayor’s term); Domeier
CITY OF HOPKINS
City Council Report 2025-008
To: Honorable Mayor and Council Members
Mike Mornson, City Manager
From: Amy Domeier, City Clerk
Date: January 21, 2025
Subject: Ordinance No. 2025-1218 Amendment of the Hopkins Charter by
Ordinance
_____________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDED ACTION
MOTION TO Approve for First Reading Ordinance 2025-1218 Amendment of the
Hopkins Charter by Ordinance.
PREVIOUS ACTION
The Charter Commission voted 8-3 to move forward with this amendment at their May
29 and July 31 meetings. The City Council voted 4 -1 to move forward with amendment
at the October 1 public hearing. The motion failed since a 5 -0 vote was required to hold
the second reading. The Charter Commission voted 7-4 on November 20 to move
forward with the amendment asking the Council to reconsider before moving the item to
a future voting ballot.
OVERVIEW
The Hopkins Charter Commission is proposing amending the City Charter to chang e
the length of the mayor’s term of office to a four -year term.
The proposed amendment is based on the following:
• Changing the mayor’s term of office from a two-year term to four-year term to
align with council members four-year term length.
• A majority (7 out of 11) of Charter Commissioners supported the amendment to
provide consistency in leadership and the opportunity to build relationships with
the City Council and other government agencies ; bring stability with a longer
term; less energy would be used on campaigning ; and the mayor could be
focused on the work of the City Council. The opposition to this amendment was
mostly to keep an option to flip the City Council membership majority every two
years.
Administration
Statewide Mayor Data:
• The LMC has data for 855 self-reported cities on Mayor’s terms
o 434 MN cities have two-year terms for Mayor
o 29 out of 107 MN home rule cities have two-year terms for Mayor
Anoka Chatfield Hopkins Montevideo St. James
Barnesville Columbia Heights Hutchinson Mounds View Staples
Benson Ely Lake Crystal Pipestone Waseca
Biwabik Eveleth Lino Lakes Rushford West St. Paul
Breckenridge Excelsior Madison Saint Charles Winthrop
Browerville Gilbert Minnetonka Beach St. Francis
Hopkins Mayor Data:
• 1999 to date (13 elections)
o 9 elections only 1 candidate
o 4 elections more than 1 candidate
• The city has average 2 mayoral candidates per election since 2013 (10-year
look-back period).
Candidates Per Election
2013 3
2015 3
2017 2
2019 1
2021 3
2023 1
• From 2000 to date, the mayor’s position has been stable
o Eugene Maxwell 2000-2015
▪ Ran unopposed 6 out of 8 elections
o Molly Cummings 2016-2019
▪ Ran unopposed 1 out of 2 elections
o Jason Gadd 2019-2021
▪ Ran unopposed 1 out of 2 elections
o Patrick Hanlon 2022-current
▪ Ran unopposed 1 out of 2 elections
The first even year election where the mayor’s term will change is dependent upon
further City Council Action.
The Ordinance Amendment requires a 5 -0 City Council vote to move forward for a
second reading on February 4. If the Ordinance Amendment does not have a
unanimous vote, it will be sent back to the Charter Commission. The Charter
Commission will decide whether to place the proposed amendment on a future voting
ballot.
SUPPORTING INFORMATION
• Ordinance 2025-1220
CITY OF HOPKINS
HENNEPIN COUNTY, MINNESOTA
ORDINANCE NO. 2025-1218
AMENDMENT OF THE HOPKINS CHARTER BY ORDINANCE
The City Council of the City of Hopkins, upon recommendation of and from the Hopkins
City Charter Commission does hereby ordain and thus amend and adopt the following
changes, deletions, and amendments of or from the following chapters and sections of
the Hopkins City Charter:
SECTION 1. Section 2.03 – Elected Officials is hereby amended by adding the
underlined language and deleting stricken material as follows:
Section 2.03. Elected Officials. The elected officials shall be a mayor and four
council members who shall all be qualified voters. They shall all be elected at -
large. The mayor and the four council members will shall serve for a term of two
years, and the four council members shall serve for terms of four years each.
The terms of all elected officials shall commence on January 1 and all shall
serve until their successors are elected and qualify . After the city general
election, the city council shall, at their next regularly scheduled meeting, meet as
the canvassing board and declare the results of the election. The candidate
receiving the highest number of votes for a particular office is elected. If the
election results in a tie, then the winner should be determined by lot in the
presence of the council acting as the canvassing board.
SECTION 2. The effective date of this ordinance shall be effective 90 days after
publication.
First Reading: January 21, 2025
Second Reading: February 4, 2025
Date of Publication: February 13, 2025
Date Ordinance Takes Effect: May 14, 2025
By_____________________
Patrick Hanlon, Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________
Amy Domeier, City Clerk