Label
Councilman Sarantou
Agenda Review
Charter Amendment - Term Limits
7/7/2026
Title
From: Councilman Sarantou Response Requested: 7/10/2026
Please explain how the proposed term limit amendment would affect district council members.
Body
Referral Response:
DEPARTMENT OF LAW
July 10, 2026
TO: President Vanice Williams and Honorable Members of Toledo City Council
THROUGH: Wade Kapszukiewicz, Mayor
Abby Arnold, Deputy Mayor
FROM: Dale Emch, Law Director
SUBJECT: Council Referral No. 26115
______________________________________________________________________________
REFERRAL:
Please explain how the proposed term-limit amendment would affect district councilmembers.
RESPONSE:
Some members of Council have sought an amendment to Section 87D(a) of the Charter of the City of Toledo. Section 87D(a) limits councilmembers to 12 consecutive years of service. If election to a new term would take a member past 12 years, the candidate would not be eligible to be placed on the ballot. So, for example, if a person were appointed to fill a vacancy even for one month, he or she would no longer be eligible to seek three full four-year terms because service of a full elected third term would exceed the 12-year limitation. The proposed amendment submitted to Council at Agenda Review would no longer count appointed service against the limitation of 12 consecutive years of service, provided that the appointed service occurred prior to commencement of the member’s first elected term on Council.
The referral question asks how the proposed term-limit amendment to 87D(a) would affect district councilmembers. The amendment, if adopted by the electors, would not affect district councilmembers any differently than at-large members. The difference discussed at Agenda Review was that Charter Section 15A can operate to require a shorter timeline to conduct an election to fill an unexpired district council term than required for an unexpired at-large term.
As currently drafted, the 87D(a) amendment would eliminate appointed service from the 12-consecutive year calculation, provided that the appointed service occurred prior to commencement of the member’s first elected term on Council. It would not address election to an unexpired term.
Some context may be helpful. The call for the amendment occurred after the 2025 general municipal election. Prior to the election, Councilmember Hartman resigned from her seat. Following the election, some members expressed the desire to appoint Councilmember-Elect Kramer to the vacant seat as a way of honoring the will of the people. However, had that occurred, that short period of approximately six weeks of service would have barred placing Councilmember Kramer on the ballot for a third full four-year term because service in that final term would have taken her past 12 consecutive years of service.
However, it’s worth noting again that this amendment has limited application because it was drafted to address a situation where relatively short service in an appointed capacity would bar someone from standing for election for a third consecutive four-year term. It applies only to appointed service prior to commencement of a member’s first elected term, whether that term is partial or full.