Saginaw — The Saginaw City Council on Tuesday appointed Tobias Young to fill a vacant at-large council seat, winning 5 votes to 3 in the final roll-call tally after two rounds of voting.

Council followed the procedure laid out in its rules of order for filling vacancies, allowing nominations from the floor and conducting successive roll-call ballots until a candidate received the five votes required. After an initial three-way tally eliminated Charles Allen, the council cast a second ballot between Young and Carla Lamar; the mayor announced, “Mister Young has 5 votes and miss Lamar has 3 votes. So mister Young is your new council member.”

The appointment followed a Committee of the Whole session earlier in the meeting in which the council interviewed a larger group of applicants. Council members read from the process instructions before the interviews began, describing a 15-minute interview allotment and asking applicants to remain in separate rooms until called so that all candidates would have equal opportunity. Tobias Young, Carla Lamar, Charles Sledge, Charles Allen, Richard Russell, Rachel Weidinger, Dylan Heelis, John Millen and others answered questions about priorities, experience and how they would handle minority votes.

Council members made nominations from the floor; the mayor closed nominations and presided over the roll-call ballots as required by Section 18 of the council rules of order. After votes were cast and tallied publicly, the mayor declared Young appointed and invited him to the dais. The council moved quickly to adjourn for its regular meeting following the appointment.

The new council member will serve the remainder of the unexpired term; the council did not set a separate swearing-in date during the session. Council documents and the roll-call procedure indicate the requirement that a successful candidate receive five votes, which Young achieved on the second ballot.

Council members and the mayor encouraged all applicants and residents to remain engaged in municipal affairs. Several applicants used their interview time to emphasize experience in housing, community organizing and public safety; Young highlighted his long-term residency, community service and experience rehabbing housing in Saginaw during his interview.

Votes at a glance

- Appointment of Tobias Young to fill vacant council seat — Outcome: approved. Final tally: Tobias Young 5, Carla Lamar 3 (Charles Allen eliminated on first ballot); legal threshold (5 votes) met. Motion text: “Appoint Tobias Young to fill the vacant City Council seat.” Mover/second: nominations made from the floor; specific mover/second for the final appointment were not specified on the record.

What happens next

Council members said they will provide administrative follow-up about when Young will be sworn in and which committees he will join. The council did not adopt additional motions related to the appointment during the meeting.