Downard Authors Mayoral Succession Resolution

The Louisville Metro Council Thursday will give first reading to a resolution that seeks to change the succession process for the mayor's office.Current law states that if a mayor cannot fulfill the duties of office, the council has 30 days to appoint a successor. A resolution sponsored by Councilman Kelly Downard seeks a change in law to allow the mayor to choose a deputy mayor as his or her successor. It will be considered by the Government Oversight committee along with proposed changes to term limits.Such changes also require approval from the state legislature. Downard says he hopes to present the General Assembly with a package of legislation that would fine-tune the merger law."We put this together in a manner that was very general," he says. "The community voted on it in a very general manner and then they went back up to the legislature and tried to put some meat on the bones. And I think now, after six years, we're going to take a look and say, 'Maybe there's some other ways to do this better.'"Downard says the oversight committee may also ask the legislature to allow special elections for mayors. Otherwise the deputy mayor would serve out the predecessor's term.