STATEMENT ON 11th ALDERMANIC DISTRICT VACANCY

We were saddened to learn today of Alderperson Chris Schmidt’s resignation from the Madison Common Council.
 
Chris has been our Common Council colleague the last six years and we've enjoyed working with him on a number of topics and issues. His commitment to making Madison, our state, and our nation a better place has driven his exemplary leadership on the Council, in his district and in the city. We wish the best for Chris and we know we will have the pleasure of working with him again in the future.
 
The procedure for filling a vacancy on the Common Council is set out in Madison General Ordinance 2.03 and Wisconsin State Statute 17.23(1)(a).
 
The Common Council President oversees the application process to fill the vacancy.  Those applications are reviewed by the Common Council Organizational Committee which makes a recommendation to the Common Council. The Common Council then appoints the new District 11 Alderperson. In addition to that process, the Common Council has the option of calling a special election in November 2016 to fill the seat until the next regularly scheduled Common Council election in April 2017. If the Common Council does not choose to hold a special election, the appointed Alderperson will serve until April 2017.
 
The process to fill the vacancy will begin soon and a timeline will be made available in the near future.