According to the State Code:
found on LIS (see below) terms of existing Town Council Members or Mayor are not to be shortened except as noted in Section D below which states:
D. In any city or town that elects its council biennially or quadrennially
and that changes to the November general election date in odd-numbered years
from the May general election date in even-numbered years, mayors and members
of council who were elected at a May general election shall have their term
of office shortened by six months but shall continue in office until their
successors have been elected at the November general election and have been
qualified to serve.
This shortening of some people's terms (those who were elected in May of 2008) will mean that those people will need to run again and be elected in the November election.
There is one apparent hitch in this 'get-along' in that the shortening is restricted to 6 months. Given that the Town of Christiansburg elected officials don't take office until September (rather than in July as other jurisdictions do) it appears there will need to be some overlap.
Is it possible that for a 2 month period we could have more than 6 Town Council Members? Suppose the 3 incumbents ran in November and were defeated, could we possibly have a situation where for 2 months we would have 9 Town Council Members?
What a mess? Well, the Town of Christiansburg set their starting dates in September while State Code says they state in July (
§ 24.2-222. Election and terms of mayor and council for cities and towns. Apparently, this date was established in the
1954 Charter for the Town of Christiansburg. Since one of those council members affected has put forth that he will be seeking legal recourse to the shortening of his term, it may be that things will get interesting...again.
(Town Council Videos of this meeting should be available later today at
myvaresouces.com.)
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§ 24.2-222.1. Alternative election of mayor and council at November general
election in cities and towns.
A. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 24.2-222, the council of a city or
town may provide by ordinance that the mayor, if an elected mayor is provided
for by charter, and council shall be elected at the November general election
date of any cycle as designated in the ordinance, for terms to commence
January 1. No such ordinance shall be adopted between January 1 and the May
general election date of the year in which city or town elections regularly
are scheduled to be held therein.
B. Alternatively, the registered voters of a city or town may file a petition
with the circuit court of the city or of the county within which the town is
located asking that a referendum be held on the question of whether the city
or town should elect the mayor, if an elected mayor is provided for by
charter, and council members at the November general election date of any
cycle as designated in the petition. The petition shall be signed by
registered voters equal in number to at least ten percent of the number
registered in the city or town on the January 1 preceding the filing.
The court, pursuant to § 24.2-684, shall order the election officials on a
day fixed in the order to conduct a referendum on the question, provided that
no such referendum shall be scheduled between January 1 and the May general
election date of the year in which city or town elections regularly are
scheduled to be held therein. The clerk of the court shall publish notice of
the referendum once a week for the three consecutive weeks prior to the
referendum in a newspaper having general circulation in the city or town, and
shall post a copy of the notice at the door of the courthouse of the city or
county within which the town is located. The question on the ballot shall be:
"Shall the (city or town) change the election date of the mayor (if so
provided by charter) and members of council from the May general election to
the November general election (in even-numbered or odd-numbered years or as
otherwise designated in the petition)?"
If members of the school board in the city or town are elected by the voters,
the ballot question also shall state that the change in election date applies
to the election of school board members.
The referendum shall be held and the results certified as provided in §
24.2-684. If a majority of the voters voting in the referendum vote in favor
of the change, the mayor and council thereafter shall be elected at the
November general election date for terms to commence January 1.
C. Except as provided in subsection D, no term of a mayor or member of
council shall be shortened in implementing the change to the November
election date. Mayors and members of council who were elected at a May
general election and whose terms are to expire as of June 30 shall continue
in office until their successors have been elected at the November general
election and have been qualified to serve.
D. In any city or town that elects its council biennially or quadrennially
and that changes to the November general election date in odd-numbered years
from the May general election date in even-numbered years, mayors and members
of council who were elected at a May general election shall have their term
of office shortened by six months but shall continue in office until their
successors have been elected at the November general election and have been
qualified to serve.
(2000, c. 1045; 2002, c. 30.)