Pacific residents will cast their votes in a special election on June 25 to decide whether to recall Mayor Cy Sun.

With results expected to be certified by July 9, the question then becomes, what’s next for Pacific?

According to Pat Mason, senior legal consultant with the Municipal Research and Services Center of Washington, the immediate future lies in the hands of the City Council.

“If the mayor prevails, obviously he stays in office,” Mason said. “Assuming he is recalled, that creates a vacancy in the position of mayor.”

Mason explained that the City Council would then have the authority to fill the mayoral vacancy with a person of its choosing.

“Probably with someone off the council, but it doesn’t have to be,” Mason said.

That appointee would then serve out the remainder of Sun’s term and the 2015 fall election will decide the next mayor, with that term beginning Jan. 1, 2016.

“So the person appointed by the council to fill the vacancy would not have to run for office (later this year),” Mason said.

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Editor’s note: This version corrects the printed version of the story that said the person appointed by the council to fill a possible mayoral vacancy would have to run for election this year.