HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-27-26 Public Comment - N. Nakamura - Comments on Section 2.06 VacanciesFrom:Natsuki Nakamura
To:Bozeman Goverment Study Commission
Subject:[EXTERNAL]Comments on Section 2.06 Vacancies
Date:Wednesday, May 27, 2026 11:14:00 PM
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Dear Study Commission:
Thank you as always for your dedication and long hours.
One section in the draft charter might need to be cleaned up (if this was already addressedpreviously and I missed it, thank you and disregard the following message).
Section 2.06(a) states: (my emphasis added)
"If the mayor is incapacitated, dies, resigns from office, or is removed from office, the vicemayor shall succeed as mayor during said time for the balance of the mayor’s term, as
appropriate; and the commission vacancy created therein shall be filled pursuant to thissection."
while Section 2.06(c) states: (my emphasis added)
"Filling of Vacancies. A vacancy in the city commission or the office of the mayor shall befilled within 60 days of the occurrence of the vacancy by vote of the existing city
commissioners. Commissioners must hold a public forum with applicants for the vacantcommission or mayor position. This appointment will be in place until the next municipalelection. The vacancy shall otherwise be filled, pursuant to state law."
Per 2.06(a), a vacancy in the mayor position should be filled by the previously decided
vice mayor, and thus there shouldn't ever be the need to fill the mayor position with anappointment from a pool of applicants; only the newly vacant commissioner seat (when
the vice mayor becomes mayor) would need to be filled. This is probably good to ensurethat the mayor is always someone who was at least elected, not appointed, to be on the
commission. Therefore, I think the language in 2.06(c) referencing the mayor positionshould be removed.
It is unclear to me between 2.06(a) and (c) how long a vice mayor becoming mayorwould serve. As an extreme example, say a mayor was elected in 2029 for a term 2030-
2034, with a vice mayor selected from the commission (as per 2.03(c)) to serve 2030-2032, but then the newly elected mayor tragically passed away partway through 2030.
Would the vice mayor become mayor until 2032 with an election held in 2031 for a newmayor with a term of 2032-2034, or would the vice mayor serve as mayor until 2034
(with an election for a new mayor in 2033 for a 4-year term)? The language in Section2.06(a) suggests the latter (especially if the language referencing the mayor is removed
from Section 2.06(c)), but that could potentially be a long time that the vice mayorserves as mayor and potentially longer than their intended appointment as vice mayor.
Additionally, perhaps some language needs to be added to 2.06(a) or elsewhere to statethat, if the vice mayor has to step in as the mayor or resigns from the commission, then a
new vice mayor from the remaining commission members needs to be appointed (sothat it is clear who presides over meetings in the absence of the mayor).
Thank you for your consideration,Natsuki Nakamura
Disclosure: I'm a member of the Economic Vitality Board, but speaking only on behalf ofmyself.