DEBARY, Fla. — DeBary City Council has 45 days to elect a new mayor, after they ousted Clint Johnson last week for violating the charter.
However, the council met Monday and decided they must go against the charter in order to replace Johnson.
Officials said there is no way around it because there is not enough time.
Council plans to vote on an ordinance in the next 45 days that will allow the city to go against the charter and hold a special election in January.
DeBary City Council decided to hold a primary election.
"If there is no one that achieves a 50 percent plus one vote, it would move to a runoff. The top two vote-getting candidates would be in the runoff," said DeBary City Attorney Kurt Ardaman.
The council will have two readings of an ordinance in the next 45 days to move the primary election to January.
Council members also agree that the general election does not give potential candidates time to get their campaigns in order.
The move will cost the city thousands of dollars to hold a special election.
"To see the council push it off of that and cost the city $20,000 is kind of disappointing," said Johnson. “It represents how sad it is the city has gotten to this point. It's the very foundation of our country and it's being disrupted."
Johnson told Channel 9 last week that he intended to run again, and that he will announce what he plans to do on Thursday.
Cox Media Group
