Section 5: Elective Officials

  1. The elective offices of the City shall be the mayor, council president, six council members, and three judges of the Spokane Municipal Court. The mayor shall be the chief executive officer of the City. The city council, consisting of the council president and six council members, shall constitute the legislative body of the City. The Spokane Municipal Court, consisting of a presiding judge and two associate judges shall constitute the judicial branch of the City. They shall be elected to a term of four years each by the qualified electors of the City in the manner provided in this Charter and by the general laws of the state.
  2. The City shall be apportioned into three council districts of generally equal population, numbered one through three. Each district shall have two city council positions, numbered one and two.
  3. General municipal elections are held in November in odd-numbered years. At one such election there shall be elected the mayor, council president, and three council members in position number one; at the next, the three council members in position number two number two and the three judicial positions of the Spokane Municipal Court shall be elected.
  4. Candidates for city council shall be nominated and elected by the electors within each candidate's district; candidates for mayor and council president shall be nominated and elected by the electors of the entire city.

Effective Date: August 18, 2015
Ordinance C35254 Section 1

Section 6: Qualifications

  1. A person must be a qualified voter of the City of Spokane and have been a resident of the city, and of the appropriate council district, for the one year immediately preceding the time of filing as a candidate for, or the time of appointment to, the office of mayor, council president, or council member. No person shall be eligible to hold the office of mayor after having served two consecutive terms as mayor. No person shall be eligible to hold the office of council president after having served two consecutive terms as council president. No person shall be eligible to hold the office of any council member in any city council district after having served two consecutive terms as a council member from any city council district. The elected offices of mayor, council president, and council member are separate elective offices each with a separate term of office and term limitation. No person shall be eligible to hold any elective city office while holding any other elective public office, nor shall any elective official of the City engage in any other capacity in city employment or office. More than one-half term shall count as a whole term.
  2. In order to maintain harmony between the City Charter and the Revised Code of Washington, as provided for in RCW 3.50.057, a judge of the Spokane Municipal Court need not be a resident of the City of Spokane, but must be a resident of Spokane County, Washington.
  3. An elected office, other than that of municipal court judge, shall be declared vacant, pursuant to Section 8(A) of this Charter, should the official cease to maintain residency in the city, and primary residency within his or her district, in the case of council members. A council member shall not be disqualified from his or her current term of office if district lines change, causing the council member to live outside his or her respective district. When this affects a current council member, that person shall be allowed to complete his or her current term of office. “Residency" for the purpose of qualifying to hold elective office means a person's permanent address where he or she physically resides and maintains his or her abode. However, no person gains residence by reason of his or her presence or loses his or her residence by reason of his or her absence while employed in the civil or military services of the state or of the United States or due to other reasons recognized by state law. Residence and voting within the limits of any territory, which has been included in, annexed to or consolidated with the City, shall be construed to be residence within the city.

Effective Date: August 18, 2015
Ordinance C35254 Section 2

Section 7: Salary

  1. The annual base salary of the mayor shall be established by the City's Salary Review Commission consistent with the rules and procedures set forth in the Spokane Municipal Code and state law.
  2. The salaries of the council president and council members shall be established by ordinance adopted by the city council or pursuant to state law and may be increased or decreased from time to time. Any change in the salary for the office of council president or council member established by ordinance adopted by the city council shall not be applicable to the term then being served by the incumbent. Any change in the salary of the office of council president or council member established pursuant to state law shall become effective pursuant to the applicable state law.
  3. The salaries of the municipal court judges shall be equal to ninety-five percent (95%) of the annual salary set by the Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials (WCCSEO) for full-time district court judges.

Effective Date: August 18, 2015
Ordinance C35202 Section 1
Ordinance C35254 Section 3

Section 8: Vacancies

  1. The office of mayor, council president, or council member shall be deemed vacant because of:
    1. failure to qualify within ten days after certification of election or as otherwise provided by state law, or
    2. death, or
    3. resignation, or
    4. removal from office by recall, or
    5. failure to maintain residency requirement of the office, or
    6. absence by the council president or a council member from four consecutive regularly scheduled meetings of the city council without being excused by the council, or
    7. conviction of a felony, or
    8. incompetency judicially declared.
  2. A vacancy on the council of a council member elected by district shall be filled by the selection of a qualified person, resident in the district in which the vacancy occurs, by majority vote of the remaining members of the council. The appointee so selected holds office until the next general municipal election at which election a person is elected to the office for the unexpired term, or for the next full term, as the case may be.
  3. In the event of a vacancy in the office of mayor or council president, the members of the council may follow the procedure of Section 8(B), or they may elect one of their number to the vacant office of mayor or council president and follow the procedure of Section 8(B) to appoint a person from the district in which the vacancy occurred to the position left vacant by the person assuming the office of mayor or council president.
  4. The office of municipal court judge shall be deemed vacant because of:
    1. death,
    2. disability, or
    3. Resignation
  5. A vacancy of a municipal court judge shall be filled by the mayor, for the remainder of the unexpired term. The appointment shall be subject to confirmation by the city council. The appointed judge shall be qualified to hold the position of judge of the municipal court as provided in Chapter 3.50 RCW.

Effective Date: March 25, 2009
Ordinance C34385 Section 5

Section 8.5: Recall of Elected Official for Violation of Code of Ethics

  1. An elected official of the City may be subject to a recall election if the ethics committee determines that the elected official has knowingly committed a violation of the code of ethics, that the violation constitutes moral turpitude rendering the elected official unfit to remain in office, and that there are no mitigating circumstances. The ethics committee may make a recommendation to the city council that the elected official be subject to a recall election and that his or her name be placed on a recall election ballot to be placed before the voters for determination. The recommendation of the ethics committee that an elected official be subject to a recall election shall be in addition to any other available penalties established by ordinance.
  2. The city council, by a vote of a majority plus two, may pass a resolution to place the elected official's name on a recall election ballot for action by the voters on the next available general or special election established by state law. The city attorney shall prepare a ballot synopsis for the recall election.
  3. A recall election of a council member shall only be submitted to the voters of the council member's district. A recall election of the mayor or council president shall be submitted to the voters on a citywide ballot. If the recall is approved by a majority of the voters of the City or of the elected official's district voting in the election, as set forth above, the elected official shall be removed from office effective the date the recall election results are certified by the county auditor.
  4. The city council may adopt, by ordinance, procedures to implement the provisions of this Charter section.

Effective Date: August 31, 2011
Ordinance C34624 Section 1