Title
District 2 Council Member Vacancy
Action
Action: Approve the process and schedule to fill the District 2 Council member vacancy.
Body
Committee Chair:
Council member Kenny Smith, Governance and Accountability Committee
Staff Resource(s):
Bob Hagemann, City Attorney’s Office
Explanation
§ Council member Al Austin, representing District 2, has submitted his resignation effective July 16, 2017.
§ State Statutes provide that the vacancy be filled by appointment of the City Council. In cities whose elections are conducted on a partisan basis, the person appointed shall be a member of the same political party as the person being replaced. Other qualifications as provided for by Statute are that the appointed successor:
- Be a registered voter;
- Be 20 years of age or older; and
- Be a resident in and registered to vote in District 2.
Recommendation
§ When then-District 5 representative John Autry submitted his resignation last year, the Governance and Accountability Committee developed and recommended a process and schedule for filling the vacancy. This process and schedule was subsequently approved by the full Council. Since the Committee is not scheduled to meet until June 26, Committee Chair Smith has developed and recommends the following process and schedule for filling the District 2 vacancy, which is modeled on the process used for the District 5 vacancy:
- Wednesday June 7, 2017: Application process opens
§ The Charlotte Communications and Marketing Office and City Clerk’s Office will advertise the vacancy and solicit applications from qualified candidates through the media and City website.
§ The application will be available on the City’s website, by e-mail, fax, and hard copy.
§ The application will include the following seven customary fields: 1) Name, 2) Postal Address, 3) Phone, 4) E-mail Address, 5) Confirmation of registered voter in the Democratic Party, 6) Confirmation of living in District 2, and 7) Statement of interest.
- Wednesday, June, 21, 2017, 11:59 p.m.: Application process closes
§ All interested candidates must submit an application to the City Clerk’s Office.
- Thursday, June 22, 2017: Completed applications provided to Council
§ Completed applications will be distributed to City Council in Council’s packets.
- Monday, June 26, 2017: Public Forum for qualified applicants
§ As part of the regular Business Meeting Agenda, Council will hold a forum to receive comments from qualified candidates who have applied for the position if they wish to speak, where each candidate will be allotted three minutes.
- Monday, July 24, 2017: Council appointment
§ Council will vote to appoint a qualified individual to fill the vacancy.
- Tuesday, July 25, 2017: Swearing-In
§ The person appointed to fill the vacancy will be sworn in by the Mayor and City Clerk. A formal swearing-in ceremony will be held on Monday, August 28.
- Monday, August 28, 2017: Formal Swearing-In Ceremony
§ A formal swearing-in ceremony will be held where the new Council member will join the full Council at the dais for the August 28 Business Meeting.
Attachments