Group, I know that a council cannot remove a member from the council itself, but it can "re-vote" and remove him from a titled position, such as Mayor or Vice-Mayor, etc., correct? Larry Vickers, Jr. Attorney At Law, P.L.L.C. 600 Emporia Street, Suite B Muskogee, Oklahoma 74401 Phone: 918-682-5900 & 303 South Thornton Vian, Oklahoma 74962 Phone: 918-773-4004 http://www.lvickerslaw.com<http://www.lvickerslaw.com/> E-mails from this firm normally contain confidential and privileged material, and are for the sole use of the intended recipient. Use or distribution by an unintended recipient is prohibited, and may be a violation of law. If you believe that you received this e-mail in error, please do not read this e-mail or any attached items. Please delete the e-mail and all attachments, including any copies thereof, and inform the sender that you have deleted the e-mail, all attachments and any copies thereof. Thank you.

Larry, I think there is an argument to make that a elected governing body member *CAN* be removed from a position they have been appointed to by the governing body so long as no one thinks that removes them as a governing body member. First, 11 O.S. 8-107 should not apply as this involves removal from the position of Mayor, and that is not, itself, an office of the government - the elected governing body position that the Mayor holds is what makes them an officer. See 11 O.S. 1-102. And you aren't removing them from the "office", just the ceremonial title. Argument would be that it's something left to the council discretion, that the power to appoint carries with it the implied power to remove, and that there is no title vested in the person in their ceremonial position. In the Council-Manager form of government, 11 OS 10-121 gives power to remove officials to the appointing authority. Now, I would argue that the Mayor is not an officer *as mayor* and is only an officer as a elected governing body member. But note that 10-121 says removal and suspension, and compare with 11 O.S. 10-105 which says that the Vice Mayor acts as Mayor "during the absence, disability *or suspension *of the mayor." This suggests that the Mayor can be suspended, and 10-121 would address who suspends the Mayor. While the statute does not address removal, the argument would be that "absence, disability or suspension" are all instances when there is a Mayor, but they cannot perform the duties. Once removed, there is no Mayor and 10-104 would kick in to allow the Council to appoint a replacement Mayor. In the Town form of government, 12-105 offers a bit more verbiage not found in 10-105 - specifically contemplating the need to appoint an acting Mayor (during absence, disability *or suspension* of the Mayor), and contemplates filling a vacancy at the Mayor position. 12-114 deals with appointments and vacancies and has some language that might give heartburn (removal of an appointive officer being solely for cause), but remember that the Mayor position is not an officer under 1-102 - the governing body position is. The counter argument would be that the statutes have the holdover language that says they shall continue to serve until a successor is elected and qualified. I would argue that that language was intended to address a situation where a governing body fails to appoint a new Mayor in the odd numbered year and was not intended to vest any sort of title or expectation that you couldn't be removed mid-term. Matt On Wed, Jul 1, 2020 at 11:58 AM Larry Vickers <larry@lvickerslaw.com> wrote: > Group, > > > I know that a council cannot remove a member from the council itself, but > it can "re-vote" and remove him from a titled position, such as Mayor or > Vice-Mayor, etc., correct? > > > *Larry Vickers, Jr.* > *Attorney At Law, P.L.L.C.* > > *600 Emporia Street, Suite B* > > *Muskogee, Oklahoma 74401 * > > *Phone: 918-682-5900* > > *&* > > *303 South Thornton* > > *Vian, Oklahoma 74962* > > *Phone: 918-773-4004* > > *http://www.lvickerslaw.com <http://www.lvickerslaw.com/>* > > E-mails from this firm normally contain confidential and privileged > material, and are for the sole use of the intended recipient. Use or > distribution by an unintended recipient is prohibited, and may be a > violation of law. If you believe that you received this e-mail in error, > please do not read this e-mail or any attached items. Please delete the > e-mail and all attachments, including any copies thereof, and inform the > sender that you have deleted the e-mail, all attachments and any copies > thereof. Thank you. > > -- > Oama mailing list > Oama@lists.imla.org > http://lists.imla.org/mailman/listinfo/oama_lists.imla.org >