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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 111301-V - Calling Recall ElectionRESOLUTION NO. RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GEORGETOWN, TEXAS CALLING A RECALL ELECTION TO BE HELD WITHIN SAID MUNICIPALITY ON FEBRUARY 2, 2002 MAKING PROVISION FOR THE CONDUCT OF THE ELECTION AND RESOLVING OTHER MATTERS INCIDENT AND RELATING TO THE HOLDING OF SUCH ELECTION WHEREAS, Sections 4.07 and 4.08 of the Charter of the City of Georgetown provide that a recall election shall be held if recall petitions are filed with the City, Secretary, signed by qualified voters of the City equal in number to at least thirty (30) per cent of the number of votes cast at the last regular election of the City, demanding the removal of such elected officer; and WHEREAS, recall petitions were received by the City Secretary on September 13, 2001 demanding the recall of Mayor MaryEllen Kersch, and Councilmembers Llorente Navarrette, Clark Lyda, Sam Pfiester, and Charles "Ross" Burson; and WHEREAS, all recall petitions were determined by the City Secretary on October 12, 2001 to be sufficient and in accordance with City Charter requirements; and WHEREAS, the City Secretary certified the sufficiency of such recall petitions to the City Council at its regular council meeting held on October 23, 2001; and WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Georgetown hereby finds that an election should be held on the next uniform election date to determine whether Mayor MaryEllen Kersch, and Councilmembers Llorente Navarrette, Clark Lyda, Sam Pfiester, and Charles "Ross" Burson should be recalled from office; and WHEREAS, the next uniform election date is February 2, 2002, which is more than forty -five (45) days from the date of the adoption of this Resolution such that an election may be ordered by the City of Georgetown; and WHEREAS, the laws of the State of Texas and the Charter of the City of Georgetown, Texas provide that the Election Code of the State of Texas is applicable to said Recall Election, and in order to comply with said code and Charter, this Resolution should be passed establishing the procedure to be followed in said election and designating the voting places for said election. NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AND ORDERED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF GEORGETOWN, TEXAS THAT: Section 1. Call of Special Election; date: territory, eligible electors; and hours. A Special Election (the "Recall Election ") to determine whether Mayor MaryEllen Kersch, and Councilmembers Llorente Navarrette, Clark Lyda, Sam Pfiester, and Charles "Ross" Burson Calling Recall Election Resolution No. `" Page 1 of 6 Pages shall be recalled from office shall be held on February 2, 2002. Said Recall Election date is forty -five (45) or more days from the date of the adoption of this order (the "Order ") and the Recall Election shall be solely in the territorial boundaries of Georgetown at which all resident, qualified electors of Georgetown shall be entitled to vote in the Recall Election of MaryEllen Kersch and all resident, qualified electors of Georgetown, in their respective districts, shall be entitled vote in the Recall Election for the Councilmember representing that district. The City Council hereby finds that holding the Recall Election on such date, which is a uniform election date, is in the public interest. The hours during which the polling places are to be open at the Recall Election shall be from 7:00 o'clock a.m. to 7:00 o'clock p.m. Section 2. Measures to be Submitted. At such Recall Election, the following measure shall be submitted: "Shall (Name of officer, title) be recalled from the office of (Name of office) T' Section 3. Ballots. Optical scan ballots and compatible equipment for such a Recall Election, as defined and described in the Texas Election Code, shall be utilized for the Election. Ballots shall be prepared in accordance with the Texas Election Code, so as to permit the electors to vote "YES" or "NO" to the above - referenced measure which shall appear on the ballot substantially as follows: For the Recall Election of Mayor MaryEllen Kersch: "SHALL MARYELLEN KERSCH, MAYOR OF THE CITY OF GEORGETOWN, BE RECALLED FROM THE OFFICE OF MAYOR?" YES [ NO [ For the Recall Election of Councilmember Llorente Navarrette: "SHALL LLORENTE NAVARRETTE, COUNCILMEMBER FOR DISTRICT , OF THE CITY OF GEORGETOWN, BE RECALLED FROM THE OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER FOR DISTRICT ?" YES [ NO [ For the Recall Election of Councilmember Clark Lyda: "SHALL CLARK LYDA, COUNCILMEMBER FOR DISTRICT , OF THE CITY OF GEORGETOWN, BE RECALLED FROM THE OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER FOR DISTRICT 7 YES [ NO [ For the Recall Election of Councilmember Sam Pfiester: "SHALL SAM PFIESTER, COUNCILMEMBER FOR DISTRICT , OF THE CITY OF GEORGETOWN, BE RECALLED FROM THE OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER FOR DISTRICT 7 YES [ NO [ For the Recall Election of Councilmember Charles "Hoss" Burson: "SHALL CHARLES "ROSS" BURSON, COUNCILMEMBER FOR DISTRICT , OF THE CITY OF GEORGETOWN, BE RECALLED FROM THE OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER FOR DISTRICT ?" YES [ NO [ ] Section 4. Conduct of election and appointment of officials. The Election shall be conducted by election officers appointed by the City Council in accordance with the Texas Election Code, the Constitution and laws of the State of Texas and the United States of America. Pursuant to Subchapter D of Chapter 31 of the Texas Election Code, the City Council is further ordering that this Recall Election be conducted under the terms and conditions of an Election Services Agreement between the City of Georgetown and Williamson County. The Election Services Agreement shall be considered for approval by the City Council at its meeting Calling Recall Election Resolution No. 11.30141 014 Page 3 of 6 Pages scheduled for November 27, 2001. The terms of said Agreement shall provide that the County shall agree to provide certain services related to the preparation and facilitation of the Recall Election. Georgetown will reimburse the County for the reasonable expenses relating to the services provided by the County under the Election Services Agreement. In addition, the Agreement shall provide for the appointment of election officials, early voting related thereto, tabulation of votes and the custody of any records from such election, and services as the early voting clerk for the Recall Election. Section 5. Voting Precincts and Election Day Polling Places. Except as otherwise provided herein, the voting precincts for the City of Georgetown shall be designated as Precinct "A" and Precinct "B." Precinct "A" shall be comprised of the territory included in City Council Districts 1, 2, 3, 6 and 7. Precinct "B" shall be comprised of the territory included in City Council Districts 4 and 5. For Precinct "A," election day voting shall take place at the Georgetown Public Library, 808 Martin Luther King Blvd, Georgetown, Texas. For Precinct "B," election day voting shall take place at the Georgetown Independent School District Tax Office, 603 Lakeway Drive, Georgetown, Texas. All polling places are located wholly or partially within the territorial boundaries of Georgetown. A map depicting all of the polling places for this Recall Election is included in Exhibit A to this Order, which is hereby incorporated by reference as if fully set out in the body of this Order. Section 6. Election information to be provided in Spanish. The Mayor and all other election officers appointed by the City Council responsible for the preparation of notices, instructions, orders, ballots and other written material pertaining to the Recall Election shall cause each such document to be translated into and furnished to voters in both the English language and the Spanish language in order to aid and assist voters speaking Spanish as a primary or an alternative language to properly participate in the election process. In addition, the Mayor and other responsible election officers are hereby authorized and directed to make available to the voters having the need of an individual capable of acting as a translator and speaking both English and Spanish languages who will assist Spanish speaking voters in understanding and participating in the election process. Section 7. Early VotinjZ by Mail. As authorized by the Texas Election Code, the Williamson County Election Administrator shall be appointed as the Clerk for early voting. Application for ballots by mail shall be mailed to: Mr. John Willingham, Early Voting Clerk Williamson County Elections Administrator P O Box 209 Georgetown, Texas 78627 The Early Voting Clerk shall collect all applications for ballots received at the above address during the period allowed by the Texas Election Code and shall deliver all such applications and ballots voted by mail as directed under the Election Services Agreement. Section 8. Early Voting. The Early Voting Clerk shall have the authority to designate such deputy early voting clerks as may be necessary to staff the Main Early Voting Polling Place and each Temporary Branch Polling Place established under this Order. Early voting by personal appearance shall take place at the Williamson County Courthouse, 710 Main Street, Georgetown, Texas, and Branch Early Voting by personal appearance will take place at the Georgetown Independent School District Administration Building, 603 Lakeway Drive, Georgetown, Texas. Each location will remain open during normal business hours (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.) each day specified for early voting, which is not a Saturday, a Sunday, or an official state holiday, beginning on the 17th day preceding the date of the election, which is Wednesday, January 16, 2002, and continuing through the 4th day preceding the date of the election, which is Tuesday, January 29, 2002. Early voting shall also be conducted on Saturday, January 19, 2002, from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and on Saturday, January 26, 2002, fiom 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Main Early Voting Location at the Williamson County Courthouse, 710 Main Street, Georgetown, Texas. Section 9. Canvassing of Returns; Declaring Results. The Williamson County Elections Administrator, as Georgetown's designated election officer shall make a written return of the Recall Election results to Georgetown in accordance with the Texas Election Code. The City Council shall canvass the returns and declare the results of the Recall Election in accordance with the Texas Election Code and the City of Georgetown Charter at a Special Council meeting on Tuesday, February 5, 2002, at 5:00 p.m. Section 10. Notice of Election. Notice of the Recall Election shall be published one time in the English and Spanish languages, in a newspaper published with Georgetown's territory at least 10 days and no more than 30 days before the Recall Election and as otherwise may be required by the Texas Election Code. Notice of the Recall Election shall also be posted on the bulletin board used by the City Council to post notices of its City Council meetings no later than the 21st day before the Recall Election. Section 11. Authorization to Execute. The Mayor of the City of Georgetown is authorized to execute and the City Secretary is authorized to attest to this Order on behalf of the City Council; and the Mayor is further authorized to do all other things legal and necessary in connection with the holding and consummation of the Recall Election. Calling Recall Election Resolution No. 111,301— Page 5 of 6 Pages Section 12. Preamble true and correct. The facts and recitations contained in the preamble are hereby found to be true and correct, and are incorporated by reference herein and made a part hereof, as if copied verbatim. Section 13. Effective Date. This Order is effective immediately upon its passage and approval. -- PASSED AND APPROVED: 52001. Mayor of the City of Georgetown, Texas Secretary,, City Co pncil of Georgetown (Seal) APPROVED AS TO FORM: Patricia E. Carls, City Attorney VI ///,?0 /- V 61-echl*otj Ire )