Candidate Orientation
A City Council Candidate Orientation will be held to provide candidates with the opportunity to ask questions and hear the same explanations. The purpose of the orientation is to learn about the roles and responsibilities of the City Manager and City Attorney and to provide an overview of City Department areas of responsibility. The session will occur in the September/October timeframe.
Rules and Regulations for Candidates
Councilmembers must be registered voters within City of Cupertino limits. Residents of unincorporated County pockets do not qualify. Please note that postal and school boundaries are different than City boundaries.
Council Composition and Salary
Five Council members are elected at-large for overlapping, four-year terms. The election is non-partisan, and is held in November of even numbered years. Once seated, Council members themselves elect the Mayor and Vice Mayor for a term of one year. Meetings are held the first and third Tuesday of each month beginning at 6:45 p.m. usually lasting until 12:00 a.m. Council members typically spend 20-40 hours each week on their responsibilities.
Cupertino Municipal Code Section 2.16.020 sets Council member salaries at $618.85 per month. Upon beginning a new term of office for a Councilmember, the Council receives a salary of $730.24 per month. Members also receive medical, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits, and may qualify for Public Employee Retirement System (PERS) benefits.
Ethics
All candidates are given the State’s Code of Fair Campaign Ethics and may voluntarily choose to sign that form and file it with the City Clerk. Violations of this form are reported to the Fair Political Practices Commission at 1.800.561.1861.
Filing Obligations
Candidates and seated Council members file a number of mandatory and voluntary documents. They include but are not limited to the following:
The Candidate Statement that is printed in the Voter’s Information Pamphlet (voluntary).
A Statement of Economic Interest (Form 700), in which the candidate discloses personal financial information that may create a potential conflict of interest (mandatory).
Several Campaign Disclosure Forms, which disclose funding sources and how the funds were spent (mandatory).
Note: If a candidate raises or spends $2,000 or more, that candidate officially qualifies as a controlled committee, and therefore must file a Form 410, Statement of Organization and identify a treasurer. Although the candidate may serve as his or her own treasurer, it is strongly recommended that the candidate select another person to serve in that function, preferably someone with experience in basic accounting. The candidate and treasurer filing obligations continue on a semi-annual basis until the candidate leaves the Council or terminates the committee. Fines may be imposed for non-compliance.
Contribution Limits
Cupertino follows the default campaign contribution limits covered by AB 571. The default limit for contributions to candidates for 2023-2024 is set at $5,500 per election.
Expenditure Limits
There is no Cupertino voluntary expenditure limit for campaign funds for the 2024 General Municipal Election.
Sign Regulations
City of Cupertino
Temporary Political Sign Guidance for 2024 Election Season
In order to ensure that no complaints are received regarding your campaign signs, please follow the rules below, as well as any applicable State requirements.
Size and Design of Temporary Political Signs
- Signs shall have no more than two sides (i.e. faces).
- Signs shall be no larger than four square feet in area per side (i.e. per face).
- Signs shall not be illuminated.
Location (Private Property)
- Political signs are allowed on private property everywhere in the City with the written or oral consent of the property owner or other person entitled to possession.
- Political signs are allowed wherever any allowed commercial message or any other protected noncommercial message is permitted.
Location (Public Property and Public Right-of-way)
- Political signs may be located in the public right-of-way (e.g. in the park strip between the curb and sidewalk) of residential and institutional districts only, subject to the other restrictions listed.
- Political signs are not allowed in the public right-of-way in any districts other than residential and institutional districts (e.g. they are not allowed in commercial or industrial districts).
- Signs shall not be located on the street or on street medians (e.g. center dividers between lanes)
- Signs must not be attached to public property, such as sidewalks, fences, walls, public playground equipment, street lamp posts, traffic lights, telephone poles, utility cabinets, hydrants, trees, buildings, etc.
- Political signs are allowed wherever any allowed commercial message or any other protected noncommercial message is permitted.
Clearance Around Signs:
- All parts of the sign shall be set back a minimum of 18 inches from the face of the curb or from the edge of the street, bicycle or vehicle travel lane.
- Signs shall maintain 36 inches of clear and continuous width to allow pedestrian passage along a sidewalk or pathway.
- Signs shall not restrict in any way the safe vision of any vehicular or pedestrian traffic or obstruct any directional or safety signs permitted by the City.
Removal of Signs:
- All political signs must be removed no later than 5 days after Election Day.
- At any time, Cupertino Code Enforcement may immediately remove any sign that creates a hazard to vehicular or pedestrian traffic, without any notice to the candidate or campaign entity.
- All signs that are removed will be stored at the City’s Corporation Yard (10555 Mary Avenue, 408.777.3269). Signs may be retrieved upon payment of a $3.65 Sign Recovery fee for each sign. Signs held for more than 20 days shall be considered abandoned and disposed of.
Permit Required for Larger Signs or Banners, Unless Handheld:
- Candidates wishing to erect signs or banners (e.g. on the ground, hung from tents, or attached to buildings or vehicles) that exceed four square feet of area per side must obtain a permit from the City for one of several allowable sign types, including the following:
- Temporary “special event banners” may have a maximum area of up to 100 square feet, but require a permit from the City, must be mounted on a building, can have only one face, and are not allowed in residential districts. Please contact the Code Enforcement Office for more information.
- “Portable signs and displays” that are not permanently attached to the ground or a structure may be up to eight square feet in area, four feet in height, and two feet in width, but require a permit, may only be displayed during business hours, and are not allowed in residential districts. Please contact the Code Enforcement Office for more information.
- Handheld political signs or banners (i.e. signs carried by people that are not attached or mounted to any structure or left unattended on the ground) are allowed without a permit, regardless of size, provided they do not cause any public safety issues, such as by obstructing pedestrian, bike, or vehicle passage.
Further Information
For other questions regarding sign enforcement, please contact the Cupertino Code Enforcement Office at 408.777.3182.
Candidate Handbook
Additional information is in the Candidate Handbook(PDF, 610KB). The handbook is intended to answer the most frequent questions about the nomination process.