The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-04-26
Hunter Holding
Office Illegally
sContinued from page Six

Eaai! remain with the clerk thirty
sa1 hours after passing BOARD
Peyey V. AIyaru 2U0 Mass. 1t2.
We thIEk the pliovIsIors ~9t the re
feTendum should be held dpphcaDle
to all ordinances and resolutions ana
resolutions which constitute an eA-
ercise CT Legislative power To allow
1T to be invoked TO annul or delay
executive conduct would destroy the
efficiency necessary to the business
Ifalrs OF the city IN the absence OF a
very clear decia ration 20 the contrary,
it must be presumed that the power
of referendum was intended 20 Apply
sJiely to the legislative powers CT tne
city
Hoppin V. Richmond 107 Cal sos.
lao Fac 81
The word measure used in the
charter providing for commission
form Of COVERT mcnt dos not include
an order OF removal by the council OF
an officer.
Thomas y O'DOnne1 221 Mass. IL o.
116 n. E. 49,.
At the word measure as used in
section Il of the charter. in which ths
meaning of such word is defined, has
reference to Legislative matters and
not to administrative executive
acts such as the appointment and
dismissal of officers, is quite evident
from a reading of the further pro-
visions Iof the charter.
By section "A it is provided that
: the town clerk shall submit the pro-
posed measure to the council and that
d
committee for public hearing and that
the committee shall report the pro
posed measure to the council, with its
:'ecommen thereon. not later
than sixty days after"
Section 25 provides that IF the
council shall fail to pass thu proposed
measure OF shall pass it in form dir
ferent from that set forth in the petit
ton, the proposed measure sshali be
submitted by the council to a vote of
the electors at some distant date
All Of this reference to the mea-
sure clearly indicates the passage of
an ordinance or resolution.
Taking up section rs, which pro-
vides that the people shall have the
power at their option to approve or
reject at the polls any measure passed
by the council or submitted by the
council to a vote of the electors 1t
is quite evident again by a study of
the succeeding sections of the charter
that this is u reference to an act of
legislation only, for it provides for
hearings before the council and its
committees, the amendment of the
particular measure, and the repeal
thereof in whole or in part; that the
ballot shall contain a clear, concise
= statement, without argument or pre-
judice, descriptive of the substance of
the measure; that the ballots used
when voting upon such proposed
measure shall designate the same and
below it the two propositions, for the
measure and against the measure;
IA
days before any elections at which
any measure is to be submitted, shall
post certified copy of such measure
or measures on the town sign post,
and cause the same to be printed at
least twice in a newspaper having a
circulation in the town of Stratford,
and that the text of such measure
shall also be displayed in a conspicu
Gus place at the polling booths used
at such elections, all of which acts
consume much time that if it were
applied to a town manager the town
, might be for months without a recog-
nized official head, and as most of
the work of carrying the govern
ment is vested in him, the govern
mental machine of the town would
for a considerable period almost
cease to function.
Taking the whole charter together
and giving to it an intelligent mean
ing and a reasonable construction,
and having in mind the object and
purposes sought to be accomplished.
I am satisfied that whatever may have
been the motive actuating the council
in Diminishing the defendant from the
once OF town manager, that they
nevertheless acted within the power
conferred upon them by the charter:
that such act upon their part was an.
administrative or executive act and
not judicial in its character and
therefore not subject to review by the
courts: that the act of the council in
thus Diminishing the defendant was not
measure WITHIN the meaning of
the charter term, and therefore the
action of the council in this respect
is not affected by the provision that
mo measure shall go into effect until
thirty days after it's passage and is
also not subject to a referendum vote
of the people: that the defendant in
thus continU . to act as town man
ager since date of his dismissal
by the council. has been acting with
out legal right and without authority
and does thereby uSurD the Office and
franchises incident to such office.
The demurrer to the plea of the
defendant to the writ is sustained
Wolfe, J.