At Incorporation, the City of Union City Charter specified that the Mayor
would be chosen by the City Council from one of it's members. The people
would elect the City Councilmembers, and they would elect a Mayor. The
Mayor would serve a term of 1 year, starting from about April 20th. This
system would stay in place for 15 years, until a ballot measure said that the
Mayor would be elected directly by voters.
| Year |
Mayor |
Vice Mayor |
| 1959 |
Tom Kitayama |
|
| 1960 |
John Ratekin |
Oscar Dowe |
| 1961 |
Oscar Dowe |
Tom Kitayama |
| 1962 |
Tom Kitayama |
George Sloan |
| 1963 |
John Ratekin |
Oscar Dowe |
| 1964 |
Willard Davis |
Irv Williams |
| 1965 |
Irv Williams |
Bernie Morales |
| 1966 |
Bernie Morales |
Tom Kitayama |
| 1967 |
Bernie Morales |
Tom Kitayama |
| 1968 |
Leo Alvelias |
Tom Kitayama |
| 1969 |
Tom Kitayama |
Manuel Garcia |
| 1970 |
Manuel Garcia |
Henry Franco |
| 1971 |
Henry Franco |
Don Miller |
| 1972 |
Don Miller |
Tom Kitayama |
| 1973 |
Don Miller |
Tom Kitayama |
In 1973, Proposition 1 proposed a voter elected Mayor. Proposition 2
proposed a Mayorial term of 2 years. Proposition 3 proposed a Mayorial
term of 4 years. Both Proposition 1 and Proposition 3 would win. The
results are below:
| Proposition |
Yes Votes |
No Votes |
| Prop. 1 |
591 |
255 |
| Prop. 2 |
324 |
n/a |
| Prop. 3 |
404 |
n/a |
Starting in 1974, the Mayor was elected to a 4 year term. Tom Kitayama
was the first voter elected Mayor (he was also the first City Council elected
Mayor). |
