Acting Mayor Joshua Paladino plans to run. Courtesy | Robyn Beck
The city council will likely vote next week to hold a special election for mayor in August, and Acting Mayor Joshua Paladino told The Collegian he will run.
The move would be another consequence of former mayor Adam Stockford’s resignation in December. When the council selected Ward 4 Councilman Paladino ‘18 to replace Stockford ’15, City Attorney Tom Thompson said he thought the city charter allowed Paladino to serve as acting mayor until 2026. But Thompson changed his interpretation of the charter, recommending at a Jan. 6 city council meeting that the city hold a special mayoral election sooner.
“If you could only fill a vacancy once every two years, that would make it really difficult when you hit mid-term vacancies under the city’s charter,” Thompson said at the recent meeting.
Thompson said state election laws list dates for a “regular state election” — the term used in the city’s charter provision for filling open seats — in May, August, and November of each year. Thompson said the city can hold a special election on any of these dates.
The council kicked the issue to its Jan. 21 meeting, and members told The Collegian they plan to set a special election for August. If more than two candidates run, the city will need to hold another election in November with only the top two vote-getters. No matter what happens in a special election, the city would hold a regular mayoral election in 2026.
Paladino and Ward 4 Councilman Robert Socha said the council will likely set an August special election with broad support.
“It is clear that special elections are designed to fill mid-term vacancies and the council should move ahead to make this happen,” Socha said. “I think it will pass with a supermajority if not 8-0. Unfortunately, we waited too long to act for the May election and must wait for August.”
Paladino — who spent a decade at Hillsdale College earning bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees — said his “current intention” is to run in August. But he also said he would like to find another candidate who would advance his policy ideas.
“No one else really wants to do it, so probably, right now, about a 95% chance I end up running,” Paladino said in an interview. “Basically, I want to preserve my agenda for the roads, police, airport, Dial-a-Ride, parks, water, all the different things.”
Stockford told The Collegian he thinks a special election is a “silly idea.”
“Special elections are burdensome to city staff,” Stockford said. “On top of that, if someone from council runs and wins, you’re back to eight members and haven’t accomplished anything. Special elections have low turnout.”
Paladino took a similar view.
“We spend a lot of money, you don’t really have the will of the people reflected in any meaningful way, and then you most likely create an additional vacancy anyway,” Paladino said. “That doesn’t really solve the problem.”
If a councilman wins the mayoral seat in the special election, then the council will need to call another special election to fill that councilman’s seat representing his ward. That election could be held less than a year before the regular city elections in November of 2026, Paladino said.
But the acting mayor said he would vote to hold a special election anyway.
“If I were just on council, I would vote no, because I don’t like special elections. They’re low turnout, they’re undemocratic, they’re unrepublican,” Paladino said. “In the mayor pro tem seat, I don’t want to give the appearance that I’m avoiding an election. I’m happy to stand for an election, and I’m trying to find a different candidate to run, if possible.”
Stockford called Paladino a “smart guy and a friend.”
“I’m happy to support him in whatever endeavors he chooses in life,” Stockford said. “That’s what men do with their friends.”
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