HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/19/2013 12A Council Replacement ProcessBUSINESS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
AGENDA STATEMENT
Item No.
For Meeting of: 11/19/2013
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ITEM TITLE:
SUBMITTED BY:
SUMMARY EXPLANATION:
See attached.
Council replacement process.
Jeff Cutter, City Attorney
Resolution: Ordinance:
Other (Specify):
Contract: Contract Term:
Start Date: End Date:
Item Budgeted: Amount:
Funding Source/Fiscal
Impact:
Strategic Priority:
Insurance Required? No
Mail to:
Phone:
APPROVED FOR
SUBMITTAL:
RECOMMENDATION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
❑ memo
City Manager
Upload Date
11/14/2013
Type
Cover Memo
FRVJLCGMANDCOV\FICH\MAL COVH DBY7NEA7T0 VEY-C ENTAADATTOR'VEYVVORK
FRODIJCTFRMLCC S
MEMORANDUM
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
Tony O'Rourke, City Manager
FROM: Jeff Cutter, City Attorney
DATE: November 14, 2013
SUBJ: City Council Member Mid -Term Vacancy
I have been asked to provide the Council a brief description of the process
provided in the Yakima City Charter for filling a Council Member's position if a
Council Member is unable to complete a full term. To begin that process, Article
11, Section 1 (D)(2) of the Charter provides, in relevant part:
...In the event a vacancy occurs for any reason in the Council, the vacancy shall be filled
by the appointment of some qualified person by a majority vote of the remaining
members of the Council, but such appointee shall hold office only until the next regular
municipal election, at which time a qualified person shall be elected to serve for the
remainder of the unexpired term for that position. If the vacancy occurs in a position held
by a Council member originally nominated or appointed from a district, then the
appointee shall be a resident of that district and the Council member who is elected to
serve for the remainder of that term shall be a resident of that district and shall be
nominated and elected in the manner provided by Subsection C (1) of this SECTION.
From this provision the essential elements of the steps necessary to fill a Council
Member's vacancy are as follows:
1. Remaining Council Members shall appoint a replacement Council
Member, approved by majority vote. If the vacating Council Member is from a
district, the appointee must be a resident of the same district.
2. At the next occurring regular municipal election the voters will elect a new
Council Member to the previously appointed position to fulfill any unexpired
portion of the vacated Member's term or for a full term if the vacating Council
Member's regular term would have otherwise been subject to re-election at
that next -occurring regular municipal election. If the elected Council Member
is fulfilling a portion of an unexpired term, then the Council position filled at
the election would be subject to vote again at the appropriate regular
municipal election for that position.
3. The specific requirements for the appointment and subsequent election of
a replacement Council Member to a vacant district position shall be in accord
with the specific conditions stated in the cited Charter provision, above, as
well as in compliance with Article 11, Section (1)(C)(1) of the City Charter,
which provides:
Not less than ten days before the time for filing declarations of candidacy for the City
Council for the election to be held in the year 1979, the City Clerk shall designate by
consecutive numbers, commencing with the number one and ending with the number
four, the positions on the Council to be filled by candidates nominated from districts, and
such designations shall be thereafter permanently considered as separate offices for
election purposes as "district positions" according to their permanently designated
number. At the municipal election to be held in the year 1979, eight candidates shall be
nominated from the four districts, as follows: Candidates for "district positions" shall file
their candidacy for nomination by the electors of the district wherein each candidate,
respectively, resides. At the primary election, each qualified voter of each district may
cast only one vote for a candidate. The names of the two candidates from each district for
whom the largest number of votes are cast at the primary election shall appear on the
citywide general election ballot, and the one candidate from each district who receives
the highest number of votes, as cast by the citywide electorate at the general election,
shall thereby be declared as duly elected to each respective "district position" as a
member of the City Council.