If no one is elected Sutton mayor in November, City Council President Michael Newman is expected to take over the position for the next four years.
Mayor Tim Anderson’s current term ends at the December City Council meeting. No candidate filed to have a name printed on the November ballot, and as of Aug. 25, no one had filed the required paperwork to run as a write-in candidate.
The deadline to file as a recognized write-in candidate is Oct. 23.
A person cannot become mayor simply because friends or other voters write that person’s name on their ballots. To be recognized as a write-in candidate and have those votes counted, the person must file the required paperwork before the deadline.
Sutton City Administrator Warren Myers contacted state officials to determine what would happen if the election does not produce a mayor.
According to the guidance Myers received, Anderson would continue serving through the December council meeting. When his term ends, Newman, as the sitting council president, would assume the mayor’s office for the new four-year term.
Newman would not simply serve temporarily until the city found someone else.
“Based on the guidance I received from the State, the sitting president of the City Council would then assume the office of mayor for the upcoming four-year term rather than serve only temporarily as acting mayor,” Myers said.
Newman’s current City Council term also ends in December, but according to the state guidance provided to the city, that would not prevent him from assuming the mayor’s office.
Once Newman becomes mayor, his council position would become vacant. The remaining council members would then choose a new council president from among themselves. The city would also follow the required public-notice and appointment process to fill the open council seat.
Anderson is also running for the Nebraska Legislature. If elected, his legislative term would begin in January, after his current mayoral term has ended.
That means Anderson could continue serving as Sutton mayor through the December meeting before beginning his legislative term.
The Nebraska Constitution prohibits a state legislator from holding another “lucrative office” under the authority of the state. However, because Anderson’s mayoral term would end in December and the legislative term would begin in January, the two terms would not overlap.
The process would be different if Anderson left the mayor’s office before his term expired. Under Nebraska law, when the mayor’s office becomes vacant in a city of the second class, the council president assumes the office for the remainder of the unfinished term.
In Sutton’s current situation, Anderson’s term is expected to end normally in December. If no successor is elected, state guidance indicates Newman would assume the new four-year term as mayor.
The situation could still change if someone files as a write-in candidate by Oct. 23 and is elected in November. Otherwise, Newman is expected to become Sutton’s next mayor in December.
