Proposed Charter creates Vice Mayor

One of the problems created by giving one person as much authority and influence as the new Charter proposes, is the need for a plan for if the elected Mayor dies or is unable to continue in office. The proposed new Charter says in those circumstances, whoever was elected President of the Council by its five members becomes Mayor until the next scheduled election at least 70 days from the date of the Mayoral vacancy. Even longer, if there is a runoff after the primary.

Today, pretty much all the President of the Council does is chair meetings when the Mayor isn’t there. It’s a largely ceremonial duty, which rotates between the four other Commissioners on a scheduled basis. The new Charter would make the election of the President of the Council a much bigger deal. But we, the citizens, would not have any votes in the choice of which of the remaining four would be Mayor-for-months in the event of a vacancy.

Page 24 of the Form of Government proposal:

If a vacancy occurs in the office of the Mayor, the President of the Council shall perform the duties of the Mayor until a successor is elected. The election shall take place at the next election date that is at least 70 days from the date the vacancy occurs.

According to Multnomah County, there are four regularly scheduled elections each year in Oregon: the 2nd Tuesday in March; the 3rd Tuesday in May; the 3rd Tuesday in September; and the 1st Tuesday after the first Monday in November. So if a Mayor croaks, steps down, or is found unfit for office, in the middle of March, the primary isn’t until September. If there’s a runoff, the new Mayor would not take office until nine months after the vacancy occurs. In the meantime, whichever Council member is President of the Council gets to run all the bureaus, appoint all citizens to all commissions and boards, fire the CAO and bureau managers, sell public property, etc., etc., etc., – even though that person was elected to serve as Mayor by three or four citizens (the members of the Council).

If this proposal passes, the election of the President of the Council, by five people with four candidates, would surely have the potential for major insider-trading.

This is an example of a line item that needs more work before sending a new Charter to the voters. Even if you want to switch to the new form of government giving more power to the Mayor, don’t you want to be able to elect a new Mayor sooner than nine months after an unexpected vacancy in the office? Since this person will be in charge of all the bureaus, and the only person who can fire the Chief Administrative Officer and bureau directors, don’t you want the capacity for a Special Election to make sure there is a timely transition to a person chosen by the people to have those authorities?