There’s a vacant seat now. How will it get filled? Can I apply for the position?
With the resignation of John Taylor’s 2-year term, people are asking how that vacant seat will get filled. In the case where a Board of Trustees is in charge of governing the town, it is the Board that appoints a person to the vacant seat. It is common to appoint a person who perhaps ran but lost in the previous election, but it’s not necessary. You can call Kellyville Town Hall and talk to the Town Administrator about applying for consideration.
Can we petition for a special election and essentially start over?
No. Kellyville is a statutory town, not a charter town, and since there’s nothing in the Kellyville statutes that dictate a special recall election, it falls to state statutes to make that call. Oklahoma is not a recall state, and therefore, except in special circumstances—say, if the entire board resigns at once—board members are free to remain at their position for the duration of their term, so long as they legally follow the rules of a board trustee.
This idea came up because the town of Pawhuska recently held a “recall election,” which they were legally allowed to do, as they are a Charter Town, with a set of documents governing the town that actually predate statehood. Of the 594 municipalities in Oklahoma, only 86 of them are Charter/Home Rule cities.
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