(a) Except as otherwise provided herein, when the office of a member of Council becomes vacant, either because a member ceases to hold the office before the end of his or her term or because a member-elect fails to take office, the vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by a person chosen by the residents of the City who are members of the County Central Committee of the political party by which the last occupant of that office or the member-elect was nominated. If the vacancy occurs in the office of a ward representative in the City where the political party which nominated the last occupant of that office is organized into a City Controlling Committee with more than one member from the ward where the vacancy exists, the members of the City Controlling Committee representing that ward shall choose the person to fill the vacancy.
(b) Not less than five nor more than forty-five days after a vacancy occurs, the specified members of the City or County Committee shall meet to make an appointment to fill the vacancy. At least four days before the date of the meeting, the Chairperson or Secretary of the City or County Committee shall notify each Committee member eligible to vote on filling the vacancy, by first class mail, of the date, time and place of the meeting and its purpose. A majority of all eligible Committee members constitutes a quorum, and a majority of the quorum is required to make the appointment. If election to the office so vacated took place at a nonpartisan election, or if the office was occupied by, or was to be occupied by, a person not nominated at a primary election, or if the appointment was not made by the Committee members in accordance with this section, the vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as a vacancy in the legislative authority of a village, as provided in Ohio R.C. 731.43.
(ORC 731.43)