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?lection" and "special election", and does not make provisions or give a definition of "regular election". Political Code, Section 1041, de- fines a "general election" as follows: "There must be held throughout the state, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of November, in the year eighteen hundred and eighty, and in every second year thereaf- ter, an election, to be known as the general election." And gives the definition of "special election" as follows: "Special elections are such as are held to supply vacancies in any office, and are held at such times as may be designated by the proper board or officer." However, our Supreme Court has had occasion in the case of People vs. Lynch, 114 California Reports, at Page 168, to cite several authorities from out of state cases, defining the term "regular election A Kansas case is cited and quoted as follows: "The words, 'regular election' do not necessarily mean general election or township election, or any state, county city or district election. They simply mean the regular election prescribed by law for the election of the particular officer to be elected." In citing a Florida case, the following quotation is given; "When it is declared that the city council shall fill vacancies until the next regular election, it means until the next regular election pro- vided by the charter for electing the officer whose term has been vacant The nearest case we have in California which might decide this question as to the meaning of the term "regular election" is found in the case of People vs. Babcock, in 123 California Reports, at page 307, in which our Supreme Court construed the term "regular election" under an Act of the City and County of San Francisco referring to the appoint- merit of the Superintendant of Schools by the Board of Education to fill a vacancy. In filling this vacancy, the Board of Education specified, "to fill the vacancy until the regular election then next following." In this particular case the next regular election was a general state election and also a general municipal election, and the proclama- tion for the municipal election included the office of superintendant of schools. In affirming this election for superintendant of schools and in their opinion, the Supreme Court states: "In the case of any parti- cular statute the construction can be determined Only by considering the context in which the word is found, the purpose of the statute and the object which it was designed to accomplish. The next regular elec- tion may mean the election at which officers are to be regularly elected or "regular" may be used merely to exclude special elections, or it may be used synonimously or inter-changeably with the word "general". They further make a quotation of the particular section under discussion and state as follows: "If regular election is here to be construed as the election at which this class of officers is regularly - chosen~ then in cases of some officers contemplated by the cDmrter, the regular election could only be at the end of the term and the provision that a person shall be elected to serve for the remainder of the unex- pired term would be meaningless. These instances are given not as hav- ing any dstemzinative force upon the question here presented, but in illustration of the fact that the p~hrase 'regular election' has no fixed and inflexible meaning." This decision was rendered in 1899, at which time general municipal elections for members of the Board of Trustees were held every two years. In other words, the terms were staggered~ Section 754.of tD~ Act at this time could not be mis-interpreted and the inten- tion of the Legislature was clear by reason of the fact that a general municipal election was held ~very two years. In.1903, Section 752 of the Act was amended so that after 1907, the staggered system was abol- ished and we now have the Board of Trustees all elected every four years Therefore, the force and effect of Section 754 was taken away and an app~ntee would hold office until the next general municipal election. This in view of the fact that Section 752 then specified and now speci- fys that the Board of Trustees shall be elected at a GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION. The o~ly construction, therefore, that can now be placed upon Section 784 as t~ the term "regular election" is that it means the next general municipal election as it meant previous to the amendment. The Supreme Court in conclusion of their opinion in the case of People vs. Babcock, state as follows: "'Regular election, as thus employed, then, is synonimous with 'general election'. Whether it be a general state election or a general municipal election~ it is unneces- sary here to determine, since the election at which the relator was elected was both a general State election and a general municipal election". From the foregoing decisions, the writer has come to the con- clusion that "regular election" as used in Section 754 of Act 8233 can only be given the meaning intended by the Legislature at the time the Act was passed, and means the next general municipal election occuring in April, 1938. Yours very truly, (Signed) 0. A. Jacobs On motion of Trustee Penn, seconded by Bruns and carried, the City Council adJourned. APPROVED: l~or of t~e City 6f Santa Aha. City ~le~k.