Seven candidates — Steve Gates, Jim Herrick, Joe Keck, Dennis Robson, Bill Rutledge, Cheryl Walkenhorst and John Willard — will compete in today’s Cortez municipal election for four seats on the Cortez City Council. The top three vote-getters will earn four-year seats, with the candidate who garners the fourth-highest number of votes serving for two years.

Also on the ballot are six proposed amendments to the city charter:

• 2A, which increases from 30 days to 60 days the time the council has to fill a vacancy in the event a member resigns or dies, since the process of finding a suitable replacement can be drawn out. It also allows for vacancies to remain unfilled when they occur within 120 days of an election.

• 2B, which clarifies the chain of command among city employees.

• 2D, which deletes language prohibiting budget adjustments to meet unforeseen events during the first nine months of the fiscal year, even if surplus funds become available.

• 2C, which would change the qualifications required of the city attorney, dropping the residency requirement.

• 2E, which changes references to the "Division of Purchase" to "Department of General Services," since its functions now involve much more than buying supplies.

• 2F, which changes references from "councilman" to "council member," since many are, in fact, women.