§ 6.06. Vacancy in the office of mayor.

If the mayor should die, resign, or remove his residence from Duval County during his term of office, or be removed from office, the office of mayor shall become vacant. A vacancy in the office of mayor shall be filled in the following manner:

(a)

An incumbent mayor who resigns in order to seek a state or federal office in the general statewide election held in November immediately preceding the last year of his term, shall submit his resignation at least 10 days prior to the first day of the qualifying period for the office to which he seeks election and his resignation shall be effective no later than the date on which the general statewide election is held. A vacancy in the office of mayor shall exist as of the effective date of the resignation. In the event a mayor's resignation should be effective before the date of the general statewide election, then the vacancy in the office of mayor shall be temporarily filled in the following succession. The president of council, the vice president of council, the chairman of the council committee on rules, and the chairman of the council committee on finance are established as successors to the office of mayor for the purpose of filling a vacancy in the office. In the event a vacancy should occur, the president of council shall serve as mayor until a successor mayor is qualified and elected, and, if there is no president of council, then the vice president shall so serve. If there is no vice president, then the chairman of the council committee on rules shall serve, and, if there is no chairman of the council committee on rules, then the chairman of the council committee on finance shall serve. If none of these successors can serve as acting mayor, the council shall by ordinance designate an acting mayor until the office of mayor shall be filled as provided herein. If any elected official in the line of succession should refuse to serve as acting mayor or if any such official who is serving as acting mayor should qualify to run for the office of mayor, then he shall no longer serve as acting mayor and the official next in line of succession shall assume the duties of acting mayor. A candidate seeking election to fill the vacancy created by this resignation of an incumbent mayor seeking other elected office shall qualify to run in a special mayoral election to be held as part of and at the same time as the general statewide election. The time period during which such candidates may qualify to run in this special mayoral election shall commence at the same time as does the qualifying period for candidates seeking office in the general statewide election and shall terminate on noon of the seventh day following the date on which the qualifying period for the general statewide election ends. A mayor elected to fill an unexpired term shall take office and assume and exercise all duties of office immediately as of the date of certification of the election returns by the supervisor of elections as provided by law.

(b)

In the event that a vacancy in the office of mayor occurs other than as provided in subsection (a), then such a vacancy shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term by election of a mayor at a special election to be called pursuant to resolution of the city council and held on a date no sooner than 1 month and no later than 6 months after the vacancy occurs. This special election shall, if possible, be held in conjunction with any other election scheduled to be held within the county. A resignation by the mayor shall be submitted to the supervisor of elections (with a copy to the secretary of the city council), shall specify the date on which it is effective, and shall be irrevocable. If a mayor submits a resignation which is effective at a date later than that on which it is submitted, the city council may, by resolution, call a special election for the election of a successor, this special election to be held on a date not less than 1 month after the date the resignation is submitted nor more than 6 months prior to the date the resignation is effective; and such special election shall, if possible, be held in conjunction with any other election scheduled to be held within the county. A vacancy in the office of mayor occurring as contemplated in this subsection shall be temporarily filled in the same manner established in subsection (a). The acting mayor shall exercise all the powers of the office of mayor until a successor mayor is qualified, elected, and assumes office. If an acting mayor should qualify to run for the office of mayor at this special election, then he shall no longer serve as acting mayor and the official next in line of succession shall assume the duties of acting mayor. Should a special mayoral election not be held at the same time as any other election scheduled to be held within the county, then the special primary election for nominations of candidates of political parties for the office of mayor to be voted upon in the special election shall be held at the times specified by the council in the resolution calling the special mayoral election, provided that at least 2 weeks shall intervene between the dates set for the first and second primary elections and at least 2 weeks shall intervene between the second special primary election and the special mayoral election. The time period during which candidates may qualify to run in the special primary elections and special mayoral elections shall be specified by the council in the resolution calling the special election, provided that at least 7 calendar days shall be fixed for the qualifying period and that the last date on which candidates may qualify shall occur not less than 3 weeks before the date of the first special primary election.

(Laws of Fla., Ch. 77-576; Ord. 84-1307-754, § 4; Laws of Fla., Ch. 85-433, § 1; Laws of Fla., Ch. 92-341, § 1)

Note— At the City's direction, "President pro tempore" was changed to "Vice President."