Council leaves vacant seat open until November election after several residents seek appointment

After public comment on Sept. 11 from three residents who said they wanted appointment to fill a council vacancy, the Fraser City Council agreed not to appoint anyone and to leave the seat vacant until the Nov. election. Speakers during the public-comment portion included George Higgins, Chris Miller and Vanya Apps, each of whom said they had expressed interest in filling the vacancy.

"I thought it was important as a candidate to share that my view that it'd be more fair to let voters and all of us candidates for council to simply leave the position vacant until the election," George Higgins told the council during public comment. Chris Miller and Vanya Apps each also stated willingness to serve for the short interim period if the council chose to appoint someone.

During agenda item discussion, council members said the seat is likely to remain vacant for a short time and that appointing an active candidate risks the appearance of favoring one candidate over another. Council member Shornack explicitly said she would favor leaving the seat empty and urged that if an urgent matter arises it be handled with the expectation the full incoming council could decide after the election. Mayor Lesich asked whether any member wished to make an appointment and, when none did, the council took no action to appoint a replacement during the Sept. 11 meeting.

Staff said the city had received six interest emails for the vacancy and that there is not presently a codified process in the packet for filling the seat prior to the election. Council did not adopt any interim appointment process at the meeting.