The Columbia City Council’s decision to hold an election April 6 to replace former Councilman E.W. Cromartie is OK, but con-tradictions in state law should be addressed by a court “as quickly as possible,” according to an opinion from state Attorney General Henry McMaster.
Click here to read the opinion.
The opinion is based primarily on state law 5-7-200, which states:
“A vacancy in the office of mayor or council shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term at the next regular election or at a special election if the va-cancy occurs one hundred eighty days or more prior to the next general election.”
That contradicts state law 5-15-50, which says:
“Public notice of the elections shall be given at least sixty days prior to such elections.”
But the attorney general’s office has, since the last 1970s, interpreted 5-7-200 to be mandatory.
“Thus, based upon the literal requirements of Section 5-7-200, as well as our long-standing opinions interpreting this provision, the City Council of Columbia, which has scheduled the election to fill the vacancy for April 6, would be within its right to do so,” the opinion says. “We cannot conclude that the election to fill the vacancy for Councilman Cromartie cannot be held on that date.”
But the attorney general’s office admitted that “a legitimate constitutional question of timing is apparent” and said “this question should thus be addressed by a court as quickly as possible.”
That chance will come Thurs-day, when Paul Denman — a retired banker who lives in District 2 — will ask Circuit Court Judge James Barber to halt the election.
Tuesday, City Attorney Ken Gaines wrote a legal brief outlining the city’s position:
“If this Court determines that the (April 6 election) does not comply with state law, Columbia City Council seeks guidance from the Court on the proper method of the election to fill the vacancy in the District 2 Council seat,” Gaines wrote.
Adam Beam covers the City of Columbia for
Dueling forums
If you’re tired of all the mayoral forums (there are five scheduled for this week alone), then you might try the “Silenced Majority Forum” tonight outside of the USC Law School.
Why? Because this forum will have a magician. And Aaron Johnson’s campaign manager will be drawing caricatures of people, carnival style.
Johnson is protesting the official forum, which will be happening inside the law school. Organizers invited four of the eight candidates: Joe Azar, Steve Benjamin, Kirkman Finlay and Steve Morrison.
And what’s a scorned candidate to do after his protest forum? From Johnson’s Facebook page: