The Haftarah reading follows the Torah reading on each Sabbath and on Jewish festivals and fast days. Typically, the haftarah is thematically linked to the parasha (Torah portion) that precedes it. The haftarah is sung in a chant (known as trope in Yiddish or Cantillation in English). Related blessings precede and follow the Haftarah reading.
A city resident wishing to become mayor must specifically run for that office. The mayor acts as the official head of city government and presides at City Council meetings. The mayor is a voting member of the Council. The mayor also appoints Council members to City Council committees and liaison positions. In May 2000, voters approved the current election system of nine Council members elected by single-member districts and a voting mayor elected at large.
With regard to the latter feature, there are two types of ballots for city council members. In partisan elections, the party affiliation of the candidate is indicated on the ballot, whereas in nonpartisan elections it is not.ccording to a 2001 survey, 77 percent of the responding cities have nonpartisan elections, and 23 percent have partisan elections. Proponents of nonpartisan ballots suggest that: 1  Political parties are irrelevant to providing services. 2  Cooperation between elected officials belonging to different parties is more likely.