NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1965 SESSION

CHAPTER 53

HOUSE BILL 90

AN ACT TO AMEND THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WINSTON-SALEM AS IT RELATES TO THE TERM OF OFFICE OF MAYOR AND ALDERMEN, SUBJECT TO A VOTE OF THE PEOPLE, AND TO PRESCRIBE THE TIME FOR SUCH VOTE.

The General Assembly of North Carolina do enact:

Section 1. On the 4th day of May, 1965, there shall be conducted in the City of Winston-Salem an election on the following proposition:

"Shall the terms for which the Mayor and Aldermen are elected be changed from two to four years?"

Said election shall be conducted in conjunction with and as a part of the general election for Mayor and Aldermen on said date, and shall be conducted under the supervision and control of the same election authority as said general election. Notice of the election on said proposition shall be given as in the case of special elections.

Sec. 2. If a majority of the qualified votes cast in said election on the proposition as stated in Section 1, above, shall be in favor of said proposition, the effect of such favorable vote shall be to amend Article II, entitled "Elections" of the Charter of the City of Winston-Salem (Chapter 232, Private Laws 1927, as amended, including amendments adopted by the 1965 Session of the General Assembly) in the following respects:

Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Sec. 12A shall be amended to read as follows, effective from and after July 2, 1965:

"1.        Election of Mayor. On the same day that the regular biennial general election for county officials is held in 1966, and quadrennially thereafter, there shall be elected a mayor, who shall be a resident of the City of Winston-Salem. All persons voting for mayor shall cast their ballot in the respective wards in which said voters reside, and the person receiving the highest number of the aggregate of the votes of all of the wards for the office of mayor shall be declared elected. It is the intent and purpose of this Section that the mayor elected in 1965 shall serve for a term expiring on the first Monday in December, 1966, and that the mayors elected in 1966, and quadrennially thereafter, shall serve for terms of four years commencing on the first Monday in December following the election.

"2.        Election of Aldermen. On the same day that the regular biennial general election for county officials is held in 1966, and quadrennially thereafter, there shall be elected eight aldermen for the City of Winston-Salem, who shall hold their office until their successors are qualified, of whom one shall be elected from North Ward, one from Northeast Ward, one from East Ward, one from Southeast Ward, one from South Ward, one from Southwest Ward, one from West Ward, and one from Northwest Ward. Each alderman shall be a resident of the ward in which he is elected, and he shall be elected by the qualified voters of his ward only. It is the intent and purpose of this Section that the aldermen elected in 1965 shall serve for terms expiring on the first Monday in December, 1966, and that the aldermen elected in 1966, and quadrennially thereafter, shall serve for terms of four years commencing on the first Monday in December following the election."

Sec. 3. Section 2 of this Act is drawn upon the assumption that the 1965 Session of the General Assembly will enact that certain bill entitled "A BILL TO BE ENTITLED 'AN ACT AMENDING THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF WINSTON-SALEM, AND OTHER APPLICABLE LAWS, AS THEY RELATE TO ELECTIONS IN THE CITY OF WINSTON-SALEM' "; further, that the provisions of that bill, after enactment into law, shall be modified by the provisions of Section 2 hereof if there shall be a favorable vote upon the proposition set out in Section 1 hereof.

Sec. 4. All laws and clauses of laws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.

Sec. 5. This Act shall be in full force and effect from and after its ratification, subject, nevertheless, to the proviso that Section 2 hereof shall not become effective unless there shall be a favorable vote upon the proposition set out in Section 1 of this Act, and, further, that if said vote shall be favorable, the provisions of Section 2 shall be in full force and effect only from and after July 1, 1965.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 5th day of March, 1965.