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9:00am | One of the points brought up over and over again in coverage and discussions about the ongoing City Council fight to select a new Vice-Mayor is that the position is essentially an empty ceremonial title more often than not sought as a resumé-builder by those with aspirations for higher office.
  
It has been repeatedly stated (including by this reporter) that the Vice-Mayor serves only a few functions: attending functions and events as a representative of the city, and, filling in for the Mayor to lead the City Council meetings when the Mayor is absent.
  
While true, these are only part of the Vice-Mayor's full role.
  
In fact, at times, the serving Vice-Mayor has played an important legislative role in the city.
  
In other more hypothetical situations, the Vice-Mayor could play a even greater role in city government as a whole.
  
According to City Charter Section 202(f), the Vice-Mayor "may exercise all powers of the Mayor" if the Mayor is absent, unable to perform his or her duties or if the office of Mayor is vacated for any reason.
  
In addition to officiating the City Council meetings, "all powers of the Mayor" include serving as the city's chief legislative officer and as head of city government in all ceremonial capacities. The Mayor's powers also include serving as the chief administrative officer of the city's Legislative Department, which the Charter defines to include "the Mayor, the City Council, the City Clerk,...," and all the Mayoral, Council and City Clerk staff.
  
However, one major Mayoral power--and one denied the Vice-Mayor under any circumstance by the Charter--is the Mayor's power to veto actions of the City Council.
  
During the normal course of business, one of the more important legislative functions of the Mayor is signing documents, somewhat analogous to the President signing legislation approved by Congress. In the past, when the Mayor has been away from the city for an extended period, the serving Vice-Mayor has been called on to sign documents in the Mayor's stead. In some cases these have involved grants and other time-critical documents that have serious financial ramifications for the city.
  
While not a frequent occurrence, City Attorney Robert Shannon said it is not entirely rare. He said it would not be surprising to find the signature of former Vice-Mayor Val Lerch on many city documents in lieu of the Mayor's.
  
All of these, are the Mayoral duties previous Vice-Mayor have performed.
  
There are also one or two that have never been performed, but could be in certain situations.
  
If the serving Mayor is incapacitated and can not perform his or her duties, the Vice-Mayor would be called on to perform the duties of the Mayor. Interestingly, the city does not have a clearly-defined succession plan for the Mayor and Council and the Charter is silent about how long the situation with an incapacitated Mayor could persist until the office is declared vacant.     
  
The Charter is clear in the situation that the Mayor's office is vacated for any reason. Under the Charter the Vice-Mayor would assume the duties of the Mayor and could wind up performing these duties for up to 120 days before a Charter-required election is held to refill the Mayor's seat.
  
In this case, the Vice-Mayor would essentially serve as an interim Mayor while still serving as both the functioning head of the City Council and as a voting City Councilmember.
  
In the most hypothetical case following a Mayoral vacancy, the Vice-Mayor's position could become a stepping stone to the Mayor's office.
  
Try this scenario: Under the Charter, a special Mayoral election must be held within 120 days following a Mayoral vacancy, unless the vacancy occurs within 88 and 120 days from an already scheduled municipal election. Let's assume a situation where the Mayor's office is vacated for some reason outside this 88 day to 120 day window.
  
The Vice-Mayor assumes the Mayoral duties. Then a majority of the Council calls a special Mayoral election in, say, 60 days (The Charter only states an election must be held within 120 days, but not how soon it could be held).
  
The next day, the Vice-Mayor announces he or she will run for the Mayor's vacated seat.
  
Any challenger to the Mayor's seat will now have just 60 days to mount a campaign against the Vice-Mayor. Keep in mind that the Vice-Mayor is typically a long-serving Councilmember who likely has a well-trained staff in place and the ability to raise quick money from a long-list of supporters.
  
Also consider that the Vice-Mayor will be serving as essentially the interim Mayor during the brief campaign with all of the concomitant publicity of the Mayor's office.
  
It would seem daunting for any challenger, other than perhaps another prominent Councilmember, to be able to launch a serious campaign against a Vice-Mayor in such a position.
  
Again, this is an entirely hypothetical scenario. However, it, and the other items mentioned above, does give some greater sense to the potential importance, both publicly and politically, that the role of Vice-Mayor affords its holder.
 
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