Double Oak Citizens and Town Council Letter Appointment of Mayor

August 18, 2022

Double Oak Citizens and Town Council,

NOTICE TO APPOINT A QUALIFIED PERSON TO FILL A VACANCY IN THE OFFICE OF MAYOR FOR THE TOWN OF DOUBLE OAK ON MONDAY SEPTEMBER 6TH, 2022.

On Monday August 1st , 2022 the Double Oak Town Council took consideration and action on accepting the resignation of Mayor Von Beougher. The resignation was accepted by the council and now the council has the task of filling the vacancy and appointing a new mayor until the next general election in May of 2023. The council agenda for August 15 stated that the council would consider and act on the appointment of a new mayor, and Mayor Pro Tem Patrick Johnson outlined in some detail the appointment process. The consensus of the Council was that the citizens of the Town should be well informed of the process and should be encouraged to fully participate in this important choice. The action on an appointment was tabled to allow for this.

The intent of this notice is to notify the Town’s citizens and explain the process for appointing a new mayor for The Town of Double Oak. This process has been discussed with the Double Oak Town Attorney and the attorney has provided the guidance that is noted.

The Process:

When there is a single vacancy on the town council, state law provides that the vacancy is filled by appointment.
Any qualified person (i.e., a registered voter in Double Oak who has resided in the Town for the at least the past 12 months) can be appointed to fill a vacancy on the Town Council which includes a vacant mayoral seat.
Approval for Appointment of New Mayor, nominations or appointments can only come from Town Council Members
An existing council member can be appointed to the position of Mayor.
If an existing council member is appointed to fill the vacant Mayoral position, that council member will serve as Mayor for the remainder of the mayor’s term in office, which will be in the next election cycle in May of 2023.
For example, if a council member whose term in office expires in 2024 is appointed mayor he/she will serve as mayor until May of 2023 and not beyond that date. He/she basically forfeits the balance of their term as council member and would then need to run for re-election in 2023 for any vacant town position.
It should also be noted that an existing council member cannot vote on his/her appointment as mayor.

The Procedure for Appointment:

The presiding officer of the meeting will ask for nominations from the town council.
Town council members can nominate any qualified nominee.
The nomination does not require a second.
Once all nominations are identified, the town council will then take motions, seconds, and votes on each nominee in the order they were nominated.
Votes are taken until the town council has a qualified candidate with a majority vote.
If a majority vote is not reached on any one nominee, the presiding officer of the meeting can move to have further discussion and possible second round of voting
If a second round of voting does not have nominee with a majority of votes then the town council will move on to next agenda item and the same process of appointing a new mayor would happen again at a future town council meeting.

If a current council member is appointed mayor the council would then need to appoint someone to fill the vacancy created by the council member becoming mayor.

The person filling the council member vacancy will serve out the remaining term of the vacant seat.

In the event that a new mayor is chosen from someone on the Town Council on Monday September 6ᵗʰ, 2022, the town council nominations to fill the vacant Town Council seat will be filled at the September 19ᵗʰ, 2022, meeting following the same process and procedures noted in this letter.

If a majority vote cannot be reached on an appointee, the Mayor Pro Tem will continue to assume the duties as Mayor until one is appointed or the current mayoral term is up.

If any town citizen or town council member is interested in being nominated for the open position of Mayor for the Town of Double Oak, please contact any one of the (5) town council members prior

to Saturday September 3ʳᵈ, 2022, Patrick Johnson, Connie Schoenrade, Scott Whisenhunt, Casey Parsons, and Jean Hillyer through their town emails or visit the Town Council pages on the Double Oak website for additional contact information.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter of notification but more importantly for being involved citizens in this Great Town called Double Oak.

Sincerely,

Patrick Johnson, Mayor Pro-Tem

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