Gainesville Votes on 16 Charter Changes, Including Term Limits and an Appointed Judge

Gainesville voters will decide 16 changes to their city charter on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Two would change who holds power at City Hall: term limits for the mayor and council, and an appointed municipal judge in place of an elected one. Several others would make it easier for citizens to force a recall or an initiative election.

The City Council called the special election in Ordinance No. 1623-08-2026, adopted Aug. 4. The propositions are labeled A through P, and voters mark for or against each one separately. According to the city's election FAQ, the charter was last reviewed in 1996. A 13-member Charter Review Commission, appointed in February, recommended most of the changes. The city attorney added a cleanup amendment.

The city's election page says it does not advocate for or against any proposition.

Term limits and the mayor's role

Proposition B would bar anyone from being elected to more than four consecutive regular terms as a council member, or four consecutive terms as mayor. Someone who hits the limit would have to sit out one full term before running for that office again. A partial term counts if half or more of it remained when the person took office.

One detail matters: under the ordinance, terms served before May 2, 2027, would not count. The clock would start fresh for everyone now in office.

Proposition C would bar the mayor from making or seconding motions at council meetings. The mayor would still preside.

An appointed judge

Proposition E would end the election of Gainesville's municipal judge. The council would appoint the judge by majority vote for a two-year term. The judge would have to be a qualified voter living in the city and could not hold another city job.

The judge now serving would finish the current elected term. After that, the office would be filled by appointment, and no further municipal judge elections would be held.

That is a real trade. An appointed judge answers to the council. An elected judge answers to the voters. Whatever the merits, Gainesville residents would be giving up a vote they now have.

Gainesville's old City Hall and fire station, now home to the Morton Museum of Cooke County, in 2021. Photo: Renelibrary / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.

More power to petition

Four propositions deal with citizen petitions:

• Proposition G would lower the signatures needed to put an initiated ordinance before the council from 15% to 10% of qualified, registered voters.

• Proposition I would lower the recall petition requirement from 30% to 25% of qualified, registered voters, citywide for at-large seats or within the ward for ward seats.

• Propositions H and J would require the council to order an initiative, referendum or recall election within 60 days, held on the earliest date the Texas Election Code allows.

• Proposition K would require recall petitions to follow Chapter 277 of the Texas Election Code.

A charter belongs to the people who live under it. Lowering the bar for citizens to check their own government is worth a serious look, though even at 25%, a recall still takes a lot of signatures.

Ethics, boards and the cemetery fund

• Proposition L would require all city officials and employees to follow state conflict-of-interest law, act in the public interest, avoid using their office for personal gain and follow state nepotism law.

• Proposition M would require periodic ethics training for the mayor and council and require the council to adopt a Code of Ethics by ordinance.

• Proposition D would require city board and commission members appointed by the council to be qualified voters living in the city with no felony conviction. Missing three straight regular meetings without an excused absence would cost a member the seat. Council members serving on boards would be non-voting.

• Proposition F would dissolve the Permanent Cemetery Fund by June 1, 2027. The first $1.5 million would go to a new Cemetery Endowment Fund, and the rest to a Cemetery Street Fund that could be spent only on Fairview Cemetery street reconstruction and repair.

• Proposition N would require a charter review commission of seven to 14 members at least once every 10 years.

The rest are housekeeping. Proposition A brings the annexation section in line with state law, Proposition O updates the charter's adoption section, and Proposition P fixes clerical errors.

How to vote

Early voting ends Friday, Oct. 30. It runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Cooke County Courthouse Annex, 112 S. Dixon St., according to the city's election notice. On Election Day, polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and voters must use their assigned precinct polling place. Cooke County Elections lists the locations.

Gainesville is not alone. Terrell voters face 22 charter changes the same day. Farmers Branch has also reviewed its charter. See our guide to the last days of early voting.