The Harp administration has formally asked the Board of Alders to set aside $75,000 to pay for a mayoral transition team this November and December.
This year’s city budget previously did not include money for a transition team.
When a new mayor gets elected, the charter requires that such a team be funded.
In a letter to board President Tyisha Walker-Myers, city Budget Director Michael Gormandy requests that the alders transfer $75,000 from the city’s rainy day fund to a transition team line item in the mayor’s office budget. The letter is on the agenda for Monday night’s Board of Alders meeting.
The letter quotes Article III, Section 1(b) of the charter: “Each newly elected Mayor shall be provided with at least one secretary, one professional staff assistant, furnished office space and such other assistance as the Board of Alders may approve upon request of the Mayor-elect at the Board of Alders’ next meeting following the election for the period from November 15th in the year said Mayor was first elected up to the first (1st) day of said Mayor’s term of office so as to best effectuate the transition of the change of executive leadership of the City government.”
Justin Elicker defeated Mayor Toni Harp 58 – 42 percent in the Sept. 10 Democratic mayoral primary. He will be the Democratic candidate on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.
Harp, a three-term incumbent, will also have her name on that ballot, on the Working Families Party line. She announced on Sept. 25, however, that she has suspended her campaign. (“There are simply too many practical considerations and obstacles to overcome for my team to effectively campaign for another term,” a mayoral press release stated.)
That hasn’t stopped a citizens group backing urging people to vote for Harp in November from filing papers with the City Clerk’s Office to establish a political action committee (PAC). That means it can raise money to campaign for her. The PAC calls itself “The People’s Campaign.” The filing lists police accountability activist Emma Jones as the chairperson and local attorney Alex Taubes as the treasurer.