The city council voted to hold a special mayoral election in August.
Courtesy | Robyn Beck
The city council voted to hold an August special election for mayor even as Acting Mayor Joshua Paladino said the move likely breaks the city charter’s rules for filling vacancies.
“There is no possible interpretation where this is a regular election. I’m sorry. I don’t see it at all. I’m pretty sure we just violated the charter,” Paladino ’18 said immediately after the 6-2 vote Tuesday night, with Councilman Jacob Bruns (Ward 1) and Matt Bentley (Ward 2) in the minority.
Despite his misgivings, Paladino voted in favor of the motion. He said in an interview last week he did not want to appear to be avoiding an election.
“I’m happy to stand for an election,” Paladino said.
The city charter states midterm vacancies should be filled at the “next regular state election” — the 2026 statewide elections, according to Paladino. But City Attorney Tom Thompson said the charter compels them to fill the vacancy sooner on a May, August, or November date, which state election laws designate for local elections.
“Is it the best way to do it, in terms of what you might choose if you were to restructure the way that’s set up in your charter? Probably not,” Thompson told the council. “But that’s the way it’s set up now.”
The election will fill the mayor’s seat left vacant by former mayor Adam Stockford ’15 after he resigned in December. The council selected Ward 4 Councilman Paladino to replace Stockford as mayor pro tem.
Paladino told The Collegian last week he plans to run unless he finds 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.
If more than two people run in August, the city will hold another election in November with only the top two vote-getters. If the newly elected mayor is a city councilman, that vacant seat will have to be filled. That could take two more special elections if more than one candidate runs for the vacant council seat.
No matter what happens in a special election, the city will hold a regular mayoral election in 2026.
Ward 3 Councilman Bob Flynn said he worries about how so many special elections could burden City Clerk Katy Price.
“I am all for following the charter,” Flynn said. “I just see a potential cluster coming Katy’s way in August of 2026.”
Send tips to the City News team: collegiancitynews@gmail.com