Los Angeles herald., 1905-06-20
TO FILL VACANCY
IN SIXTH WARD
COURT PROCEEDINGS MAY
BEGIN TODAY
ACTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
Members File Sixth Ward Petition
for Special Election In Order
That Question May BE
Presented to Court

Discussion as to whether A. d
Houghton Of the Sixth ward Is still the
representative of that portion Of the
city in the city council took UP the
greater part of yesterdays session oi
the city's legislative body
The ex-councilman says he did not
mean 1t when he resigned a week age
Friday.
All right then, says the council, you
can still hold your job.
This is about what the prolonged dis
cussion netted. Immediately following
the roll call, Houghton moved that he
be permitted to withdraw his resig-
nation, and the motion, contrary to the
precedent established for handling the
motions offered by the representative
from the Sixth, was adopted without a
dissenting vote.
Citizens File Petition
At the afternoon session, a petition
signed by representative voters of the
Sixth ward, praying that as that ward
now had no legal representative in the
council, an election be held immed-
lately to choose one.
Attorney w. Ona Morton represented
the petitioners, while Houghton's inter-
ests were looked after by Isadore B.
Dockweiler. In speaking to the ques-
ton, Attorney Morton sa,d
1.-THE citizens of the Sixth ward whom
II rpnracpnt ho1iaUa hat boi of
the representative of that ward in this
council became vacant the moment
former Councilman Houghton resigned,
as he put it, to take effect Immediately,
and left the council chamber. For that
reason. they have petitioned that you
call an election in order that they
shall choose some one who shall be their
legal representative in the city council"
Ex-Councilman Houghton then de-
clared that his colleagues had decided to
let him take back his resignation and
that he intended to hold down the
chair at all costs as long as possible,
and that if his constituents desired to
throw him out they could invoke the |
recall
Attorney Morton continued:
This is not a proposition of one
man against another, but is a question
of law. If a man resigns from an
elective office, that office is vacant,
according to the law of the state"
Isadore B. Dockweiler then addressed
the council and argued that the coun-
Gil was the judge and jury in the |
case. He asked them to go slow and |
do nothing hastily. After this attorney
had argued for some time upon the
point that the council had the power
to refuse or accept resignation, or
expunge parts of sessions from the
records, Mr.. Morton again took the
floor, and said:
Morton Cites Decisions
"The courts of California, in dealing
with propositions of this character,
have held that a resignation is a resig-
nation. According to the decisions of |
the supreme court of California the
council, nor any other legislative body,
has the right or power to refuse to ac-
cept resignation or expunge from the
records portions of proceedings. The
supreme court of this and other states
have held that the one course for legis-
lative bodies in such cases is to call
an election to fill the vacancy created
by the resignation of an official"
Attention was called to the fact that
the minutes giving full details Of the
resignation of the member from the
Sixth were in the minute book in full.
and the fact developed that in spite
of the fact that these sections of the
proceedings had been ordered expunged
the clerk had, upon the advice of the
city attorney. written them up in full.
Councilman Smith asked for the city
attorney that he might give his opinion,
but Houghton objected, and the attor-
ney was not called.
In Executive Session
The council then assembled as a COM
mittee of the whole and went into
executive session. AS they were going
into the committee room, Dockweiler