Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1909-02-26
INITIATIVE, R RI FER!
ENDUM and RECALL
FEATURES SENATOR ieE8sEsEN
WOULD ADD TO THE CITY
COMMISSION PLAN.
IF A COMMISSIONER PROVES UN'
WORTHY THE voTERscAN
PUT HIM OUT

Senator Bessesen's bill, No.3ll, is a
measure calculated to complete the pres
ent city commission plan the law OF
1907. 1t provides for the recall, the
referendum and the initiative.
It provides that the holder of any
elective office in cities which may
adopt or have adopted the commission
plan of government, may be removed at
any time by the electors qualified to
vote for a successor of such incumbent.
The procedure to effect the removal OF
an incumbent of an elective Office shall
be as follows: A petition signed by
electors entitled to vote for y successor
to the incumbent sought to be removed,
equal in number to at least twenty-five
percentum of the entire vote for all can
didates for the Office of president cast
at the last preceding general ln,,nicipal
election, demanding an election of a
successor of the person sought to7be re-
moved, shall be filed with tyauditor
which petition shall contain 4 general
statement of the grounds for which the
removal is sought. ssssss$
If the petition shall be found to be
sufficient, the board of city commits
sioners shall order and fix RI date for
holding the said election, not less than
thirty days or more than forty. days
from the date of the auditors certih-
cate to the board of city commissioners,
that a sufficient petition is filed. The
board of city commissioners shall make
or cause to be made publication of no.
tice and all arrangements for holding
such election, and the same shall be
conducted, returned and the result
thereof declared, in all respects as are
other city elections. The successor OF
any officer so removed shall hold office
during the unexpired term sof his pre-
decessor. Any person sought 70 be re-
moved may be candidate TO succeed
himself, and unless he requests other
wise in writing, the clerk shall place
his name on the official ballot without
nomination In any such removal cleo
ton, the candidate receiving the high
est number of votes shall be declared
elected. At such election if some other
person than the incumbent receives the
highest number Of votes, the inenmbent
shall thereupon be deemed removed
from the office upon qualification of his
successor. . ss.,sz s-s;..sss@... d. 5s =.
The measufe also provides for tht
initiative on ordinances On petition 81
twenty-five per cent of the voters pro
posed ordinance must either be passed
by the commission or submitted to .
vote of the people. s5
The referendum is also provided for.
That is, after an ordinance is passed
ten days or allowed in which time il
twenty-five per cent of the voters pro
test against the ordinance Il the same
must be voted upon. %sG 1,
The measure also provides that any
city after six years of government,
under the commission system may sfe--
turn to the old system if the majority q
the voters so declare.
Senator Bessesen's idea in this
measure is to complete the present COM
mission system law by adding these fea-
lures of "recall," referendum" and
Initiative" -. = A. gs