1. COUNCIL VACANCY DO YOU…..
APPOINT A NEW COUNCIL MEMBER?
ADD the VACANT SEAT TO THE BALLOT?
BOTH?
Sue Stein, MMC, CPM, City Clerk, Bullhead City

2. ---- Council Member died in February 2016
Term Ran to November (2 years, 8 months)
A.R.S. § Vacancies in Council
A. The council shall fill a vacancy that may occur by appointment until the next regularly scheduled council election if the vacancy occurs more than 30 days before the nomination petition deadline, otherwise the appointment is for the unexpired term. This subsection does not apply to a charter city.
B. The member appointed shall meet the qualifications established in Section
2016 Election Cycle - The nomination petition deadline was June 1, 2016
WE DID BOTH – Appointed & Added to the Ballot

3. City Code dictated the Process to Fill the Vacant Seat
Council adopted ordinance in 2009 that took out the politics and created a structured and fair process
-Eliminated “marathon” council meetings
-Eliminated perspective of “favoritism”
-Totally transparent process

4. To fill the 8-Month Council Vacancy (per City Code):
Council appoints a 7-member nominating committee
Nominating committee interviews, ranks, and recommends top 5 candidate nominees
Council then appoints a candidate to fill the vacancy
Process was never enacted until 2016!
Manager, Attorney, Clerk crafted all docs

5. Council Candidate Application Form
Used a typical employment application form

6. Council Applicant Ranking Form

7. Council Applicant Ranking Summary
CITY COUNCIL
APPLICANT NAME
Score
AVERAGE
1. Mike Villagran
2. Annette Wegmann
3. Larry Tunforss
4. Barbara Pape
5. Heather Brennan
6. Nichole Huseman
7. Kathy Bruck
8. Norma Brummett

8. Keep in Mind…… Council Vacancy occurred during an election cycle.
We had 12 candidates currently circulating petitions for election to four 4-year terms.
We had to add one 2-year term to the ballot.
How to distinguish who was running for which term?
4 Year?
2 Year?

9. All Candidates Had to Declare

10. Excerpt from Press Release

11. A Notice was Provided in Candidate Nomination Packets Informing Candidates they must Designate the Length of Term on their Petition Forms

12. A.R.S. § 16-502 Form and Contents of Ballot
K. “Immediately below the offices listed in subsection J of this section, the ballot shall contain a separate heading of any nonpartisan office for a vacant unexpired term and shall include the expiration date of the term of the vacated office.”

13. This is how it is shown on a ballot:
COUNCIL MEMBER TERM EXPIRES: MM/DD/YYYY VOTE FOR NOT MORE THAN 1 MIEMBRO DEL CONCEJO PLAZO SE VENCE: MM/DD/YYYY VOTE POR NO MAS DE 1

14. Outcome Entire Process was open to the public
Nominating Committee provided the City Council with top 5 ranked candidates in 1-5 order.
City Council voted 7-0 to appoint the highest ranked candidate to fill the 8-month term.
The appointed Council Member is currently running for election to a 4-year term.

15. Questions ?????