The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1915-02-03
Topeka May Have Two Mayors,
!. Council and COmmissi0n.
attempt to Switch to Council
4 System Presents Tangle.
} TO ATTORNEY GENERAL
legal Light Needed If Old Way
Wins at Special Election.
crescent Plan May COntinue :
: Years Regardless of Vote.

<. Topeka may have two mayors, q set
q city commissioners and also city
council, all at the same time, and
then again. of course Topeka may not.
FThos1 who are seeing double In city
politics figure it this way:
Suppose that a special election is
held ant a majority Of the voters de-
eide the city shall go back to the
council plan of city government. The
petitions calling for this election will
be presented to the city commission
tomorrow. If the petitions are found
to be valid, the earliest possible time
in which a special election can be held
will be February 15. If at this cleo
ton the council plan wins the soonest
time in which a primary election to
nominate a mayor and councilmen
will be March II. Then forty-five
days must elapse before the general
city election under the council form
can be held, bringing the date to
May 2.
In the meantime. the present city
officials, not knowing what he result
or the special election may be, will
have gone ahead in the regular rou-
tine way, just as though no special
election was to be held. Nomination
petitions for mayor and city commits
81 ners will have been filed by March
IS, or the day after the special elec-
ton. Ten days later, or March %,
the primaries lnder the commission
plan will be held and on April 6, the
election under the commission plan
will take place and the new mayor
and city CO.. missio1ers will have been
elected nearly a month before the
council set Of officials have been
chosen.
When an Election.
The mix-up develops out of the fact
that there is a question as to the time
in which elections must be held when
a city changes back from the commits
sion to the council form.
If the old law which prevailed be-
fore the commission plan was adopt
ed again becomes operative. the sit
uation will be about as outlined. But
there is also another legal cOmplica-
ton growing out of the conten-
election under the council plan is
definitely fixed by law and that this
fixed time will have been passed be-
fore a general city election under the
council plan can be held this year, SO
regardless of whether the council
form wins at the special election or
hot, Topeka will continue. under the
commission form another two years
This is not the view, however, which
those behind the movement to have
Topeka return to the old way of do
ing things, take of the situation.
They expect to win at the special
election and to nominate and elect
and put into office this year may
or and councilmen from each ward.
So, regardless of what the correct
situation is from a legal standpoint
If the council plan wins in a special
election, Topeka will quite likely
have two sets of city officials each
contending they are legally entitled
to the offices.
If the petitions which will be pre-
scented to the city commission to-
morrow are found to be valid, it is
quite likely the city commission
ers will ask the state attorney gen.
eral for an opinion OH the correct
legal course to pursue.