Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Special Election topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City council unanimously approves emergency special election to fill five seats
Summary
At a special meeting, the city council approved three unanimous resolutions authorizing an emergency special election to fill five council seats (three from a recall and two expiring terms), set a suggested election date, and establish ballot formatting and voting rules.
The city council voted unanimously at a special meeting to authorize an emergency special election to fill five city council seats, approve a suggested election date and set how the offices will appear on the ballot.
The council approved three resolutions—24-010, 24-011 and 24-012—that together grant authority to hold the election, propose a voting date and establish ballot position rules. Chair (S3) read the resolutions aloud and the council moved and seconded the measures before voting.
Resolution 24-010, read by Chair (S3), gives the city authority to hold an emergency special election to fill five positions: three seats left vacant by recall and two seats expiring in December 2024. Chair (S3) said the emergency vote is intended to prevent a governance gap if multiple seats became vacant at once. Council member (S5) moved to approve Resolution 24-010, and Council member (S1) seconded; the motion proceeded to a roll-call and the resolution passed unanimously.
Resolution 24-011 designates an election date. Chair (S3) said “The date that Bill Burgess has suggested…would be to hold the election on 12/17/2021,” noting the timing would help the county clerk coordinate the special election with general election work. The council discussed the need to pick a date, moved on the proposal and approved the resolution unanimously.
Resolution 24-012 establishes how the positions will be listed and how voting will work. Chair (S3) read the provisions: positions 1 through 3 are listed as four-year terms and positions 4 and 5 are listed with shorter terms; within each position voters may cast one vote and the candidate with the most votes wins. The transcript’s phrasing about the exact length of positions 4 and 5 was not explicit; the council nevertheless adopted the formatting resolution unanimously.
After the votes, Chair (S3) said staff will start work with the county clerk immediately and that the first round of paperwork will be submitted to the county clerk by Wednesday next week. The council said it will post candidate application procedures and “drop-dead” deadlines on the city website and have counsel review each step to ensure compliance. The special meeting concluded at about 7:10 p.m.
What happens next: city staff will file paperwork with the county clerk, publish candidate filing instructions and timelines, and counsel will review procedures to confirm legal compliance. No public-comment period was held at this special meeting.
