Question: Things are good. The sun is shining. The birds are
chirping. But a councilmember just left
their council seat and it feels like trouble is looming on the horizon. Now what do we do?
Answer: First,
some basics. A vacancy occurs when a councilmember resigns, moves from the
city, or for any of the other reasons in Minnesota Statute § 351.02 can no longer serve. Once the position has been vacated, the
council must use a resolution to declare the seat vacant and begin work to
appoint a successor to the seat in accordance with Minnesota Statute § 412.02,subd. 2a.
Many cities choose to openly advertise the vacancy to ensure
that high quality candidates can be found and to eliminate any appearances of
closed dealing. A successor can be any
individual that is eligible to vote in a municipal election. After candidates have been found, the
remaining members of the council vote to appoint a successor. If there is a tie vote, the mayor may appoint
any qualified individual and is not limited to the list of successor
candidates.
Yeah but, how long do they serve?
Minnesota law plainly requires the council to appoint
a successor, but the law is less clear about how long the appointed successor
will serve. In some cases the appointee
will complete the full length remaining in the vacated term, and in other cases
the appointee will only complete part of the remaining term. How can you know what to do?
—Let's try a "choose your own adventure" tactic to get your answer. Please note that these scenarios assume that the vacated
position was initially elected to a four-year term and that the word
“councilmember” includes mayors.
Was your vacancy ...
During the first
year?
Then: Council appoints a successor to temporarily fill the
position. The city must also hold a
special election at or before the next municipal election to elect a
successor. The appointee holds the
position until the elected successor qualifies, at which point the elected
successor will complete the remaining term.
During the second
year?
Then: Council appoints a successor to fill the position and, depending
upon when the vacancy occurred, there might or might not need to be a special
election. This is determined by the date
a vacancy occurs in relation to the first day to file an affidavit of candidacy
in the next municipal election. … Got that? Here’s a tip: this date changes
slightly from year to year, but is generally between late May and late July
depending upon whether or not the city has a primary election. For 2014, that
date is May 20 for cities with a primary election and July 29 for cities
without a primary election.
If the vacancy occurs before the first day to file an
affidavit of candidacy then the appointee will serve temporarily until an
elected successor qualifies after winning a special election at or before the
next municipal election. The elected
successor will complete the remaining term.
If the vacancy occurs on or after the first day to file an
affidavit of candidacy then there does not need to be a special election and
the appointee will complete the remaining two years of the term.
During the third
or fourth year?
Then: Council appoints a successor to fulfill the remainder of the
term.
For cities in which the mayor has a two-year term, an
appointee may complete the remaining term without a special election.
So go enjoy the rest of your day. Vacancies happen, but
Minnesota cities have a process in place to handle them, rain or shine.
For more information, check out the League’s Calendar of Important Dates, Cities Special Elections memo, or contact the Research Department.
Written by Jake Saufley. Contact the League's Research and Information Service staff by emailing research@lmc.org, or by calling (651) 281-1200 or (800) 925-1122.
This blog post conveys general information. It’s not
legal advice. Please check with your city attorney before acting on this
information.