Friday, July 11, 2008

City Chater section 2

The Council

Section 2.1. Number and term

(1) Election of Mayor

One member of the City Council shall be known as the mayor who shall be elected to that office by the qualified voters of the city at large for a term of two years who shall serve until his successor shall be elected and qualified. Provisions of this Section shall apply at the next regular municipal election, at which time the mayor shall be elected for a term of two years and one General Councilmember for a term of four years. Thereafter at the next regular municipal election the mayor shall be elected for a term of two years, and at each regular municipal election there shall be elected two General Councilmembers and two Zone Councilmembers for terms of four years except at the Municipal election in 1981 the General Councilmembers shall be elected for a short term of two years. The mayor shall be prohibited from serving more than four consecutive terms as Mayor.

Approved by vote of the people April 1, 1986.

term limits were approved by the people to prevent a lifelong mayor, very smart.

(2) Number and Term

The Council shall consist of nine (9) members to be known as Councilwomen or Councilmen, each of whom shall be elected for a term of four (4) years and shall serve until his or her successor shall be elected and qualified. Reference to "Councilmember" as used throughout this Charter is intended to mean "Councilwoman" or "Councilman" depending upon the gender. Five Councilmembers known as General Councilmembers shall be elected by the qualified voters of the city at large. Four (4) of the Councilmembers to be elected shall reside respectively in Zones 1, 2, 3 and 4 and are to be known as Zone Councilmembers. Zone Councilmembers shall be elected by the qualified voters of the zone in which they reside.

General Councilmembers' seats or positions shall be individually designated by number or by letter or by other reasonable designation, and shall thereby be distinguished from one another for purposes of appointment and election.
Approved by vote of the people April 3, 1984.

no term limits here however the voters are able to remove via ballot box or petition process

(3) Running for Another Council Office - Limitation

No member of City Council may file for another City Council office, other than the office of mayor, if such other City Council office has a term overlapping the term of office that the member of council then holds, unless the member of council first gives written notice to the city clerk of intent to so file not later than 30 days prior to the date upon which one can first file for such other office. The giving of written notice of intention to file for such overlapping office shall constitute an irrevocable resignation of the office that the Councilmember then holds effective as of the date upon which the results of the general city election are certified for such other office. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Charter to the contrary, the office to be vacated by the irrevocable resignation shall be filled by the qualified voters for the balance of the term thereof at the same aforesaid general city election held after the notice of intent to file for the other office is given.
Approved by vote of the people February 5, 1985.

2 comments:

Jim Hornaday said...

"The mayor shall not serve for more than four CONSECUTIVE terms".

What's to prevent King Thomas from stepping down for a short term, and COMING BACK in 2010? Hey,he's got to be shown he's not welcome -- to the point that IF he were up for election in 2008 it would be obvious he would be voted OUT. People of Springfield, you have your work cut out for you.

Jim Hornadayipqnrtb

tom said...

Sorry for the delay in answering this question but I wanted my research to be correct.
There is absolutely nothing in the charter which prevents an individual from term limiting out then sitting out an election only to serve until being term limited out again. Reminds me of those revolving doors that you see at office complexes that if you stay in you just go around in circles or you can jump out and continue on to your location.