What at present is of utmost importance is the process that must be followed to fill that seat. Both the Council members and our legal advisers seemed unclear about the procedure. I knew that I was, thus before expressing my opinion on the Candidates for selection by the Council to replace Freeholder Carter, I reviewed much of 40A:16-* the portion of the States Statues regarding municipality officer holders.
It would seem that on March 29,2010 the legislature and Governor Christie who had to sign the revisions were very busy. The first important article is 40A:16-22. Provisions in special municipal charters superseded This article makes it clear; our special charter has no meaning: "The provisions of any special municipal charters which are inconsistent with the provisions of this chapter are hereby superseded. L.1979, c. 83, s. 1, eff. April 26, 1979. Last modified: March 29, 2010"
Now we know that the State will dictate how the vacancy will b e filled. However there are two statues ,40A:16-5 and 40a:16-11 that address the methodology of filling the vacancy.
Alas, since there are differences between the two sections there is a question of which has precedence. 40A:16-5. Filling vacancies in municipalities holding general elections "Whenever a vacancy occurs as provided in N.J.S. 40A:16-3 in the office of a mayor or in the membership of the governing body of a municipality holding general elections, the vacancy shall be filled in the following manner:a. If the vacancy occurs any time subsequent to September 1 of the next-to-the last year and up to the expiration of the term of the officer whose office has become vacant, the office may be filled for its unexpired term by appointment by the governing body as hereinafter provided;b. If the vacancy occurs at any other time, the vacancy shall be filled for its unexpired term at the next general election to be held not less than 60 days after the occurrence of the vacancy. The governing body may fill the vacancy temporarily by appointment as hereinafter provided".L.1979, c. 83, s. 1, eff. April 26, 1979. Amended by L.1980, c. 101, s. 2, eff. Sept. 11, 1980.Last modified: March 29, 2010.
40A:16-11. Appointment to fill vacancy where incumbent was nominee of a political party; time to fill vacancy 40A:16-11. Appointment to fill vacancy where incumbent was nominee of a political party; time to fill vacancy. If the incumbent whose office has become vacant was elected to office as the nominee of a political party, the municipal committee of the political party of which the incumbent was the nominee shall, no later than 15 days after the occurrence of the vacancy, present to the governing body the names of three nominees for the selection of a successor to fill the vacancy. The governing body shall, within 30 days after the occurrence of the vacancy, appoint one of the nominees as the successor to fill the vacancy. If the governing body fails to appoint one of the nominees within the time prescribed herein, the municipal committee that named the three nominees shall, within the next 15 days, appoint one of the nominees as the successor to fill the vacancy, and such person shall be sworn in immediately. If the municipal committee which nominated the incumbent fails to submit the names of the nominees within the time prescribed herein, the governing body may, within the next 15 days, fill the vacancy by the appointment of a successor from the same political party which had nominated the incumbent whose office has become vacant.If, on the effective date of this act, the governing body had previously received from the municipal committee the names of three nominees to fill any such vacancy and had not filled the vacancy, the governing body, within 30 days after the effective date of this act, shall appoint one of the nominees as the successor to fill the vacancy.Last modified: March 29, 2010 And finally there is another provision if the Council fails to fill the post. Does this negate 40A:16-11 delegating the selection to the local party committee if Council fails to accept any one of the three."
I would suppose that our Acting Corporation Counsel with the help[ of the Acting City Administrator will be able to fill Solomon's role and decide which procedure we must follow.
To further complicate matters there is this statue also revisited in the great rewriting;
40A:16-13. Failure of governing body to fill vacancy in membership of governing body 40A:16-13. "Failure of governing body to fill vacancy in membership of governing body. If a governing body shall fail or decline to fill a vacancy in the membership of the governing body by appointment as provided in N.J.S.40A:16-4 or 40A:16-5 within the time prescribed by N.J.S.40A:16-12, the office shall remain vacant for the remainder of the term or until the election and qualification of a successor, as the case may be." L.1979, c.83, s.1;amended 1980,c.101,s.5; 1990,c.57,s.2.Last modified: March 29, 2010I hope that every thing is now clear!
Now that we are clear on the process except the to be determined question . should there be one ballot with three names and the Councilors voting for one, or three separate ballots. In either case the successful individual will need 4 "yes" votes.
AS to the Candidates themselves; Bluntly, none impressed me that they would be an adequate replacement for Ms Carter. None showed any knowledge of the Council's functions. I can not remember over the years of any one of the three addressing the Council or exhibiting a citizen's interest in its activities by attending the meetings. If I am mistaken, I will gladly accept correction of that misconception. Two of the nominees would return the city to pre-riot days, but gave no plan how that could be done. All seem to be in the same position that Renata recently wrote she had to face when elected to the BOE; "having to learn what the organization did, its responsibilities and limitations." I for one could not support any of the three if I had a vote. I hope that the Councilors if they share my forebodings are not willing to accept just a body and would hope for more.
If the Council did not accept any of the three, then one of the 3 statues quoted above would have to take effect. We could live a year with the qualified Council as presently constituted. Or, we could hope that if it was thrown back into the hands of the DPCC a more knowledgeable activist citizen of one of the two involved wards could be found who would be willing to serve. Good statesmanship should lead to seating a positive figure on the Council irregardless of his/hers political vent.
Let it snow
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