(a)   The governing body shall consist of a mayor and five council members to be elected to terms as set forth herein. The mayor and council members shall be residents and qualified electors of the City of Wakefield, Kansas.

(b)   Those governing body positions with terms expiring in April 2017, shall expire on the second Monday in January of 2018, when the city officials elected in the November 2017 general election take office. Those governing body positions with terms expiring in April 2019, shall expire on the second Monday in January of 2020, when the city officials elected in the November 2019 general election take office.

(c)   General elections shall take place on the Tuesday succeeding the first Monday in November 2017. Succeeding elections will be held every two years for all such governing body positions whose tem1s have expired. A mayor and two council members shall be elected at one election, and the remaining three council members shall be elected at the succeeding election. The mayor and all council members shall have four year terms.

(C.O. No. 1; C.O. No. 11)

(a)   In case of a vacancy in the council occurring by reason of resignation, death, or removal from office or from the city, the mayor, by and with the advice and consent of the remaining council members, shall appoint an elector to fill the vacancy until the next election for that office. In case any person elected as a council member neglects or refuses to qualify within 30 days after election, the council member shall be deemed to have refused to accept the office and a vacancy shall exist. The mayor may, with the consent of the remaining council members, appoint a suitable elector to fill the vacancy.

(b)   In case of a vacancy in the office of mayor, the president of the council shall become mayor until the next regular election for that office and a vacancy shall occur in the office of the council member becoming mayor.

(K.S.A. 15-201; R.O. 1965, Sec. 1-107; C.O. No. 11)

Regardless of the number of candidates who have filed for election for any city office there shall be no necessity of a primary election, and every person who has filed for any city office shall be listed on the ballot, and be voted upon by the voters at the general election of city officers, to be held on the first Tuesday in April. The person from among the candidates who receives the largest number of votes at such general election shall be declared the winner in said election.

(C.O. No. 9; Code 2015)

(a)   In accordance with K.S.A. 25- 205, and amendments thereto, any person may become a candidate for city office elected at large by having had filed on their behalf, a nomination petition or a declaration of candidacy, accompanied by any fee required by law. The nomination petition must be signed by thirteen (13) of the qualified electors of the City of Wakefield.

(b)   In order to sign or carry a petition under this section, the bearer of the petition or any signatory must reside within the city limits of Wakefield, be registered to vote, and must be a member of the same political party as the candidate.

(K.S.A. 25-205; K.S.A. 25-21a01; K.S.A. 25-2110; Ord. 1318)