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Excellent post by Wayne (Statute 50-704 seems appropriate -
<a href="http://www3.state.id.us/cgi-bin/newidst?sctid=500070004.K" eudora="autourl">
http://www3.state.id.us/cgi-bin/newidst?sctid=500070004.K</a>). And
my error - I had not considered that the term had a full two years
remaining (I don't vote in city elections, so did not understand that
component) and leaped into the crevasse without a parachute.<br><br>
Wayne's suggestion of heading to District Court is probably reasonable
and should help settle the controversy quickly. A small subtle
point may be the notion of certifying the election - which probably needs
to be done (if not already) before any actions can be taken.<br><br>
<br>
At 03:06 PM 11/14/2005, you wrote:<br><br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite=""><font size=4>Election
Debaters,<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns =
"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><br><br>
<br><br>
I stopped by the city library on the way from the post office.
<br><br>
<br><br>
Donald Huskey cited the below as the applicable law. <br><br>
<br><br>
To see quickly if there was any case law on this particular statute, I
checked the Annotated Idaho Code. There was only one annotation and
that did not deal with the issue which the city now faces. No all
cases may be referenced by the annotations.<br><br>
<br><br>
Unless things have changed, anyone with a UI computer ID can go to the UI
Law Library Site and make a careful and complete search with relative
ease to see if there are any other cases dealing with IC 50-704.
They can then read, copy, and paste to Vision 2020 all applicable
cases. {Anyone can use the computers in the lobby of the law
library for the same purpose.}<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
However, if the city wants to be squeaky clean and aboveboard on this
issue, it should ask the district court for a Declaratory Judgment on an
expedited basis.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
Since I am not an attorney, my opinion is not likely to be very
persuasive. That said, maybe we should look carefully at the
statute at issue.<br><br>
<br><br>
</font><font face="Times New Roman, Times">50-704. VACANCIES --
APPOINTMENT. A vacancy on the council shall be filled by appointment made
by the mayor with the consent of the council, which appointee shall serve
only until the next general city election, at which such vacancy shall be
filled for the balance of the original term.<br>
</font><font size=4><br>
<br><br>
It may be helpful to break the statute down:<br><br>
<br><br>
[A] A vacancy on the council shall be filled by appointment made by
the mayor with the consent of the council,<br><br>
<br><br>
[B] which appointee shall serve <b>only</b> until the next general
city election,<br><br>
<br><br>
[C] at which such vacancy shall be filled for the balance of the
original term.<br><br>
<br><br>
There does not appear to be any controversy about [A].<br><br>
<br><br>
[B] appears to be saying that the appointee serve <b>only</b> until the
next general city election. Perhaps a more exact way of reading
this is:<br><br>
<br><br>
shall serve <b>only</b> until the {date of the} next general city
election,<br><br>
<br><br>
This means, in my opinion, that once the election is held, the
appointee's term of service has ended. The use of the word
"<b>only</b>" in the context of the statute and particularly in
the context of phrase [B] seems determinative to me.<br><br>
<br><br>
That being the case then [C] should be read as:<br><br>
<br><br>
at which {date of the next general city election} <s>such</s> the
vacancy {for which the appointee was appointed} shall be filled for the
balance of the original term {which is the interval between the date of
the general election and the date elected officials are normally sworn
in}.<br><br>
<br><br>
If it was intended for the appointee to fill the entire remaining term of
the position to which they were appointed until the seating of those
elected in the next city general election, the language of the statute
would read:<br><br>
<br><br>
which appointee shall serve the remainder of the term of the
councilperson whose departure created the vacancy; or if there is a
general city election before the end of the vacator's term, shall serve
until a new councilperson can be elected and seated in accordance with
the other applicable statutes of this section.<br><br>
<br><br>
Perhaps the legislative intent of this statute is to install in office as
quickly as possible a person who clearly and directly represents the
current will of the electorate, not one who serves, once removed by
appointment rather than by election, according to the past will of the
electorate.<br><br>
<br><br>
<br><br>
My opinion could easily be wrong in this matter. However, I urge
the city to seek a Declaratory Judgment from the district court on an
expedited basis. Perhaps by Monday next, we could have an
answer.<br><br>
<br><br>
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)<br>
<a href="mailto:deco@moscow.com">deco@moscow.com</a><br>
</font> <br>
<font size=4>----- Original Message ----- <br>
From: "Jeff Harkins"
<<a href="mailto:jeffh@moscow.com">jeffh@moscow.com</a>><br>
To:
<<a href="mailto:vision2020@moscow.com">vision2020@moscow.com</a>
><br>
Sent: Monday, November 14, 2005 11:09 AM<br>
Subject: [Vision2020] Term of Office<br><br>
> Visionnaires:<br>
> <br>
> It seems to me that elections are for "terms of
office"<br>
> <br>
> I suspect that the state law deals with two issues - filling the
<br>
> remaining term of Hill (to January) and election of the replacement
<br>
> for the new term - (which is seated in Jan),<br>
> <br>
> A consistent interpretation - leading to seating in January
<br>
> seemingly consistent with the will of voters ....<br>
> <br>
> Thus voters for Hill get their full term and voters against Ament
<br>
> don't have to endure someone they didn't vote for more than his
<br>
> elected term. Seems rather straightforward to me.<br>
> <br>
> _____________________________________________________<br>
> List services made available by First Step Internet, <br>
> serving the communities of the Palouse since 1994. <br>
>
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>
<a href="mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com" eudora="autourl">
mailto:Vision2020@moscow.com</a></font><br>
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