NO DEPUTY-MAYOR

COMPLICATION OVER

BY-ELECTION

CR. BEANLAND MAY HAVE T0

RESIGN POSITION

To the small crop of minor technical complications which have arisen over the pending resignation of the Mayor, the Hon. D. G. Sullivan, has been added another which presents unusual difficulties. It seems that unless a certain line of action is taken by the interested parties the city might be without a mayor or a deputy-mayor for some days. It is practically certain that Cr. J. W. Beanland. the Deputy-Mayor, will be a candidate for the mayoralty, and that to avoid creating another vacancy on the council in the event o£ his election to the mayoralty, he will resign his seat on the council at the same time that the Mayor resigns. Mr Sullivan will probably resign on February 14. The mayoralty will become vacant immediately. The deputy-mayor would automatically carry out his duties until the election of a new mayor. But Cr. Beanland will probably resign his position as a councillor when the mayor resigns. A new deputy-mayor could not be elected until the meeting of the council following the resignation. This meeting will be held on February 24, so that for 10 days the city would have no mayor or deputymayor. This unprecedented situation could be avoided only in one way—by Cr. Beanland resigning his position as deputy-mayor before the next meeting of the city council on February 3. And it is likely that if Cr. Beanland is nominated for the mayoral contest, he will be asked to take this step to . avoid such a. complication. The council has the power to appoint a new deputymayor and this could be done at the meeting on February 3. Compromise Over Position This development would lead to another interesting situation in City Council affairs. After the last municipal election, when Cr. Beanland was elected deputy-mayor, it was reported on good authority that he and Cr. E. H. Andrews had compromised over the position—that Cr. Beanland would hold the deputymayoralty for the first half of the term of three years, and Cr. Andrews would take over the position for the second half. If Cr. Beanland resigns it now seems likely that Cr. Andrews will secure the deputy-mayoralty much earlier than he would have under the reported arrangement. Cr. Andrews is considered the most likely candidate for the honour among Citizens' Association councillors, who have a majority on the council.