Mississippi Advisory Opinions January 23, 2001: AGO 000014189 (January 23, 2001)

AGO 000014189.

Dear Mr. Bryant:

Attorney General Mike Moore has received your letter of request and assigned it to me for research and reply. Your letter states:

The Mayor and Board of Aldermen of the City of Hazlehurst, Mississippi, have requested that I obtain your opinion on the following matter.

The City of Hazlehurst is a Code Charter Municipality. Elections for the Mayor and the Board of Aldermen are scheduled for 2001. The Aldermen run from five wards. We are advised that census data will not be available in time to redistrict wards based upon new census information. The City wishes to avoid conducting two elections.

Please furnish us with your official opinion on whether the City may dispense with the regular election, secure the census data and redistrict, and hold a special election later this year. Also, please advise us of any special actions which must be taken in order to accomplish this, if your opinion allows us to proceed in that manner.

In response to your inquiry, please see the enclosed copy of our opinion addressed to Colmon S. Mitchell, Esquire, dated January 12, 2001. That opinion, inter alia, says that municipalities are statutorily required to conduct elections as scheduled unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction.

Sincerely,

MIKE MOORE, ATTORNEY GENERAL

By:

Phil Carter

Special Assistant Attorney General