What If The CAO Resigns?
In some sense, this question applies to any municipal government with some sort of manager position, and not merely to Curiously-Strong Mayor. But I’m having difficulty finding in the text of the current local proposal an answer to this question.
Suppose that the Chief Administrative Officer resigned. Who takes over while the Mayor searches for a replacement?
Is there a Deputy CAO who assumes the CAO responsibilities? If so, is the Deputy CAO required by Charter to have the same qualifications as the CAO, or would every bureau in the City suddenly be managed by someone who isn’t qualified?
If there isn’t a Deputy CAO, does the Mayor take over direct administration of the entire City? And since Team Potter argues that it’s better to have a professional manager in charge rather than elected officials with no “expertise”, wouldn’t that apply here as well?
As I said, I’m having some trouble finding in the text of the proposal (pdf) what the Chief Administrative Officer’s staff looks like and what happens in the event of a resignation. It might be in there and I’m just not seeing it, so if someone knows I’d appreciate the pointer.