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The El Camino Healthcare District, a public agency that oversees El Camino Hospital, has put a measure on the November ballot seeking to establish term limits for its five-member board of directors.
Measure S would limit board directors to serving no more than four full four-year terms, or 16 years in total. It would be a lifetime limit, meaning that board members could not later return after reaching the cap. Currently, the district does not limit the number of terms a director may serve.
The limit would apply only to future terms beginning after Dec. 1, 2026. Partial terms, including appointments to fill a vacancy, would not apply towards the term limit.
The measure requires a simple majority to pass.
A “no” vote would reject the ballot measure and the district would continue not to have term limits for its board of directors.
What is the El Camino Healthcare District Board of Directors?
Originally formed in 1956, the El Camino Healthcare District encompasses most of Mountain View, Los Altos and Los Altos Hills, as well as a large part of Sunnyvale and small portions of Cupertino, Santa Clara and Palo Alto.
The district’s board members both oversee the tax-funded district and serve on the nonprofit hospital’s board of directors.
The current board members are John Zoglin, Carol Ann Somersille, Julia Miller, Peter Fung and George Ting. Of those, the longest-serving board director is Zoglin who was first elected in 2008.
In May, the board voted 3-2 to place Measure S on the November ballot, with Zoglin and Ting casting the dissenting votes.
“I’m not in favor of this,” Zoglin said at the time. “I feel it’s a solution for a problem that doesn’t exist.” Zoglin also noted that it would cost an estimated $300,000 to put on the ballot.
At a June meeting, Ting told the board that he did not recall opposing the measure. He then voted in favor of the board submitting an argument backing the measure to be included in the county’s voter information guide. Zoglin cast the lone dissenting vote.
Support for Measure S
The formal statement in favor of Measure S is signed by Miller, on behalf of the board.
“Term limits work,” Miller wrote. “They create opportunities for qualified candidates, including those who have been underrepresented, to run for seats that would otherwise remain occupied indefinitely.”
Miller further argued that term limits “reduce entrenchment and the institutional resistance to change” and would help ensure that the board “stays accountable to the community it serves, not simply to the habits and relationships of long-term incumbents.”
Opponents to Measure S
No formal argument was submitted against Measure S, according to county records.
