The Iowa Attorney General has stepped into the debate over when city council and park board vacancies can be filled, advising auditors statewide they do not have to wait until the next "city" election to place vacancies on the ballot.
". . . we believe the 'next pending election' for purposes of filling vacancies in nonpartisan city offices is not limited to a city election in which city voters are the only voters going to the polls," Deputy Attorney General Julie Pottorff said in the advisory letter sent State Auditor Michael Mauro July 15. "When a vacancy in a city office occurs '74 days or more before the general election,' the general election may be the 'next pending election' for purposes of filling the vacancy."
The city of Bettendorf and the Scott County Auditor's Office have been at odds over when an election to fill a vacancy on the park board should be held. Auditor Roxanna Moritz had planned to put the park board vacancy on the general election ballot this fall, but the city appealed her decision to Scott County District Court saying the city appointee should not have to run for election until November 2011, the next city election.
The district court judge ruled in the city's favor, and the auditor's office is considering appealing that decision.
The attorney general's advisory is not expected to have an immediate impact on the Bettendorf case, but will empower other county auditors to place vacancies on the upcoming general election ballots rather than wait another year for municipal elections.
"In light of the recent district court ruling and while an appeal is pending, you (Iowa Secretary of State) ask whether you should direct county auditors that city vacancies should not be filled by the voters until the city election in November 2011, or whether you should continue the past practice of directing county auditors to place city vacancies on the general election ballot in these circumstances," the attorney general letter states.
"Until there is a final resolution of this issue by an appellate court, we continue to advise that your office should direct county auditors to treat the general election this November as the 'next pending election' for purposes of filing city vacancies under these circumstances. The Scott County Auditor should follow the district court ruling unless a stay of this decision is obtained," the letter said.
CLICK HERE to download a PDF of the Iowa Attorney General's letter to the Iowa Secretary of State.
