February 26, 1996



The Honorable Toby Goodman

Chair

Committee on Juvenile Justice

  and Family Issues

Texas House of Representatives

P.O. Box 2910

Austin, Texas  78768-2910

Letter Opinion No.  96-014



Re:    Status of the mayor and a council 

member of the City of Fort Worth who 

have resigned to run for another 

office    (ID# 38543)





Dear Representative Goodman:



	You have requested our opinion regarding the status of the mayor and a council 

member of the City of Fort Worth, each of whom has resigned to run for another office.  



	You indicate that in December, 1995, Mayor Kay Granger and council member 

Kenneth Barr both announced that they were candidates for other offices.  Under the 

terms of the Charter of the City of Fort Worth, each of them were then deemed to have 

immediately vacated his or her first office:



If a member of the council shall become a candidate for nomination 

or election to any public office, other than that of councilperson, 

he/she shall immediately forfeit his place in the council;  and any 

appointive officer or employee of the city who shall become a 

candidate for nomination or election to any public office shall 

immediately forfeit the office or employment held under the city.



FORT WORTH, TEX., CHARTER, ch. III, § 8, reprinted in CODE OF THE CITY OF FORT 

WORTH (Municipal Code Corporation 1986) (footnote added).



	On the other hand, article XVI, section 17, Texas Constitution, provides that “[a]ll 

officers within this State shall continue to perform the duties of their offices until their 

successors have qualified.”  We have very recently said that this “holdover” requirement 

prevails over another constitutional provision, article XVI, section 65, that deems an 

announcement of one’s candidacy for another office under certain circumstances to effect 

an automatic vacation of the first office.  Attorney General Opinion DM-377 (1996) at 5.  

It is obvious that the “holdover” provision of article XVI, section 17, overrides any 

charter presumption of automatic vacation.  With this background in mind, we now 

consider the specific situations you present.



	In the case of a council member, chapter III, section 4 of the charter prescribes 

that a vacancy “shall be filled by special election.”  In that instance, the council member 

must be deemed to continue to hold his or her office until such special election has 

occurred and a replacement has been elected and qualified.  In the case of the mayor, 

however, chapter III, section 4 declares that “[s]hould a vacancy occur in the office of 

mayor, the mayor pro tem shall serve until a special election shall be called under the 

rules pertaining to filling vacancies among the other councilmembers.”  Thus, under the 

terms of the charter, there is no “vacancy” in the office of mayor:  the mayor pro tem 

instantly assumes the office of mayor.  As a result, the mayor will “hold over” by virtue 

of article XVI, section 17, only until the mayor pro tem “qualifies” for the office of 

mayor, presumably, that is, immediately.



S  U  M  M  A  R  Y



	Under the terms of the charter, a council member of the city of 

Fort Worth immediately vacates his office as soon as he or she 

“becomes a candidate” for another office, but article XVI, section 

17, Texas Constitution, deems the council member to “hold over” 

until his or her successor “shall be duly qualified,” that is, 

subsequent to a special election as provided in the charter.  The 

charter also provides that, pending a special election, a vacancy in 

the office of mayor shall be immediately filled by the mayor pro tem.  

Thus, the mayor holds over only until the mayor pro tem has 

qualified for the office of mayor.



						Yours very truly,







						Rick Gilpin

						Deputy Chief

						Opinion Committee







 We presume for purposes of this opinion that, under the charter, the mayor is a member of the 

council.

The Honorable Toby Goodman  -  Page 2    (LO96-014)