On Thursday afternoon, August 15, 2024, the Arlington Circuit Court approved the City’s petition for a Writ of Special Election to coincide with the General and Special Elections already scheduled for November 5, 2024, to fill the remainder of the term on City Council created by the resignation last week of former Council Member Caroline Lian. Ms. Lian’s term was to have run through December 31, 2025. The City Attorney filed the petition with the Court, which includes the City of Falls Church, on Tuesday, August 13, following City Council’s Monday night vote to do so. (See Pulse post on the Council meeting below).

Candidates have two weeks from today, August 15, until Friday, August 30, 2024, at 5:00 pm to complete the steps necessary to have their names placed on the ballot by the September 20 start of early voting in the November elections. The City noted that this deadline to qualify for candidacy in the City Council Special Election does not affect or extend the August 16, 2024, deadline to qualify for candidacy in the School Board Special Election.

Residents interested in running for City Council may view the Voter Registration & Elections Office website and contact Director of Elections & General Registrar of Voters David B. Bjerke at City Hall, 300 Park Avenue, in Falls Church. The telephone number is 703-248-5085, and email is vote@fallschurchva.gov.

Additional information on becoming a candidate, along with the forms that need to be filed, can be found at the Virginia Department of Elections, Candidate/PAC Info, Becoming a Candidate.

The emergency City Council meeting scheduled for Monday, August 19, 2024, to begin an appointment process if the Court denied the petition or failed to act by the City’s August 16, 2024, deadline, has been cancelled.

City Council Petitions the Court for Special Election to Fill Vacant Seat

August 13, 2024

Summary

The City Council directed the City Attorney to petition the Arlington Circuit Court for a Special Election on November 5, 2024, the date of the General Election, to fill the Council seat vacated by former Council Member Caroline Lian. The petition also asks the Court to extend to August 30, 2024, the filing deadline for candidates interested in running to complete the remainder of the seat’s term, which ends December 31, 2025.

The petition will be filed on Tuesday, August 13. If the Court does not grant the petition by close of business on Friday, August 16, the City will withdraw it, and the Council will meet on Monday, August 19, to begin an appointment process.

An election or a Council appointment?

At its August 12, 2024, meeting, the City Council debated the options for filling the vacant seat created by the sudden resignation of Council Member Caroline Lian last week. Following extensive discussion of options presented by City Attorney Sally Gillette, the Council decided to petition the Arlington Circuit Court for a Special Election on November 5, 2024, and request a new filing deadline of August 30, 2024, for candidates to appear on the ballot.

The motion, which passed 4-2, further stated that if the Petition for Writ of Special Election is not issued by the end of the day on Friday, August 16, 2024, it would be withdrawn, and Council would meet on Monday, August 19, to discuss an appointment process. Council Members Erin Flynn and David Snyder ultimately voted against the motion because it removed the possibility of an election of a Council member in favor of an appointment to fill the seat if the Court does not grant the writ.

Lian’s resignation creates a vacancy

Former City Council member Caroline Lian whose resignation left a vacant seat to be filled. — Former Council Member Caroline Lian

Ms. Lian’s resignation of her Council seat prompted the Council’s action. Her departure, effective immediately on August 8, 2024, was announced by the City’s Communications Office. Ms. Lian’s four-year City Council term was to have run through December 31, 2025, requiring the Council to determine how to handle the vacancy through next year.

“Ms. Lian’s council resignation follows an article in The Washington Post published August 7, describing a finding by the District of Columbia’s Board of Ethics and Government Accountability Office that Ms. Lian had not properly reported outside employment, resulting in her resignation from the District,” the City statement said. “The Post article prompted the City to review Ms. Lian’s most recent annual Financial Disclosure, known as “Virginia State and Local Statement of Economic Interests.“

“Upon review, the City discovered that the former council member listed only Freddie Mac as her employer and did not disclose her employment relationship with the District of Columbia,” said Mary Catherine Chase, spokesperson for the City. “Following procedures set forth by State code, the City has relayed this information to the Commonwealth’s Attorney for investigation.”

City Attorney provides five options

In a staff report, City Attorney Sally Gillette provided the City Council with five options available to them under the City Charter and State code for filling the Council seat. She declined to provide her recommendation of what they should do. The options include:

Leave the seat vacant for the remainder of the term and until it can be filled by the voters at the General Election on November 4, 2025.

The Court has the authority to fill the vacancy, but it is unlikely that would happen, Ms. Gillette said.
Appoint an individual to fill the vacant seat, a process that is permitted until a candidate is elected and qualified to fill the seat, either by a Special or General Election.

State code requires that if made, such an appointment be completed within 45 days of the vacancy, or, in this case, no later than September 22, 2024. After this date, the Court could make an appointment or, more likely, approve the Council’s recommendation of someone to fill the vacancy.

If an appointment is made by City Council, the Court is obligated to deny any petition for a Special Election that would occur in calendar year 2025; however, the court could approve a petition seeking a 2024 Special Election after a Council appointment is made. If the City Council chooses to make an appointment, there are several procedural requirements, including a public meeting at least seven days before the appointment is finalized where the names of those being considered are announced and their resumes and any other materials required by Council are provided for public inspection.
Petition the Court to allow a Special Election concurrent with the General Election on November 5, 2024, although because the 2024 General Election is less than 90 days from the date the vacancy occurred, the Court may deny the petition.

If approved, the Special Election would require that the current deadline for candidates to complete the paperwork and other steps to qualify to be on the General Election ballot be extended from August 16, 2024, to August 30, and the Court would need to approve this change in filing date as well. Director of Elections & General Registrar of Voters David B. Bjerke said that a new August 30, 2024, deadline for all candidate documents would give his office enough time to finalize the ballot for early voting, which begins Friday, September 20.
Petition the Court for a Special Election on a special date after November 5, 2024, on any given Tuesday until September 9, 2025.

Mr. Bjerke expressed concern about the additional work a Special Election outside a General Election would require and the impact it would have on his office. He also estimates the cost of conducting an off-cycle Special Election to be about $11,000. Ms. Gillette further noted that there is some legal ambiguity whether this option is allowed under the City Charter and indicated clarification could only be achieved by petitioning the Court.
Petition the Court for a Special Election to occur after November 5, 2024, and appoint a person to fill the seat until the winner of the Special Election is seated.

This option requires that the petition be filed in the calendar year 2024 and the Special Election conducted in 2024. This would result in a “very short appointment,” Ms. Gillette said, and raises the same concerns outlined in option 4 for Mr. Bjerke and his staff.

Council discussion

Throughout the lengthy Council discussion, Members Snyder and Flynn favored an election as the means by which the vacant seat is filled. Mr. Snyder said he wanted to “assure that citizens have the maximum opportunity” to make this decision, and that a petition to the Court to permit a Special Election with the General Election on November 5, 2024, would be “expeditious and cost effective.”

Assuming the Arlington Court rules on the petition in a timely manner, Ms. Flynn also supported a Council race as part of the November 5 election. “In general, Council should not self-select,” she contended, commenting later in the debate over which option to choose that “it is really important that we have an election and the benefit of 10,000 people [potentially] voting rather than six people selecting their colleague for the next year.” She noted that the appointment process would require 45 days in any case and urged leaving the seat open until the November election.

Preference for an appointment

Vice Mayor Debora Schantz-Hiscott and Council Members Marybeth Connelly and Justine Underhill favored the appointment option on the grounds that so many people are away from the City in August and too little time remains to complete the prerequisites to become a candidate, including collecting the required 125 signatures of qualified voters, setting up a bank account, and preparing to file the mandatory financial reports with the Virginia Department of Elections. Registrar Bjerke confirmed that potential candidates cannot collect signatures before the special election is ordered by the Court. Ms. Schantz-Hiscott said she was confident there would be more candidates for the seat if an application process were pursued.

Mayor Letty Hardi indicated that the added cost and low voter turnout for anything other than a General Election in November were good reasons to eliminate options 4 and 5 as Ms. Gillette described them. She, too, expressed a preference for appointing someone to fill the unexpired term.

No turnout if the Council appoints

In response, Mr. Snyder asked, “Is democracy worth $11,000?” should a Special Election not tied to the General Election become necessary, and commented that “there will be no turnout if the City Council makes an appointment.”

The Council ultimately reached consensus on asking the City Attorney to file a Petition for Writ of Special Election as soon as possible requesting a Special Election on November 5, 2024, and a new filing deadline for candidates of August 30, 2024. Members also agreed to withdraw the petition if the Court fails to act on it by close of business on Friday, August 16, and to meet on Monday, August 19, if necessary.

Where the Council split four members to two was limiting the discussion on August 19 to the appointment option, should that meeting become necessary. Ms. Connelly made the motion tying the petition for the writ and the appointment option together, and Ms. Underhill seconded it. “The reason for deciding tonight about what we will discuss on Monday is for clarity of process so there is no further delay for people to start applying,” Ms. Schantz-Hiscott said.

In explaining his “no” vote, Mr. Snyder reiterated his belief that “this decision ought to be made by the voters, whether in November or December…not the City Council.”

Ms. Flynn added, “We may also receive public comment between now and next week, so I would like to leave open for conversation next steps should a writ be denied. At the same time, I want to take a practical approach to this and give the public certainty as to what it is that’s happening. That is the basis for my vote.”

References

Council Member Resigns Seat, August 8, 2024 City official press release.
City Council Meeting, August 12, 2024. YouTube video. The City Attorney’s presentation of options and Council’s discussion of them begins at timestamp 1:51:30 and ends at 3:28:00.
Options Under City Charter and State Law to Fill a Vacancy on City Council, August 12, 2024.