Vacancies in the offices of Mayor, City Attorney, Controller and members of the City Council shall be filled by appointment or election in the manner set forth in this section.
(a) Appointment. The Council may fill a vacancy by appointing a person to hold the office for the portion of the unexpired term remaining until the next second Monday in December of an even-numbered year. If any portion of the term remains after that date, the Council shall also call a special election or elections to fill the remainder of the term, and shall consolidate the election with the primary nominating election and general municipal election next following the appointment. If a vacancy is filled by appointment after the first date fixed by law for filing a Declaration of Intention to become a candidate at the next primary nominating election, the person appointed shall hold the office for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(b) Special Election. The Council may call a special election, and special runoff election, if necessary, by ordinance for the purpose of filling the vacancy for the remainder of the unexpired term. The Council shall provide in the ordinance for the consolidation of the election with any other election and for the procedure for nominating candidates, including the amount of the filing fee, if any, to be paid by candidates and other matters pertaining to the election. The Council also may appoint a person to hold the office temporarily until the vacancy election is conducted and the election results are certified and declared.
(c) Recall. Any person appointed or elected to fill a vacancy may be removed from office by the recall in the same manner as if he or she had been elected to office.
SECTION HISTORY
Amended by: Charter Amendment 1, approved March 3, 2015, effective April 2, 2015; Charter Amendment E, approved November 6, 2018, effective December 14, 2018.