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Council elects five members to Advisory Committee on Transportation after multiple voting rounds
Summary
The Metropolitan Council completed multiple voting rounds to fill five vacancies on the Advisory Committee on Transportation, electing David Harris, Dr. Claudio Moss, Dr. Morgan Rynberg, John Wesley Smith and Caitlin Russell.
The Metropolitan Council conducted a series of votes on March 18 to fill five vacancies on the Advisory Committee on Transportation (agenda item E-1). Council rules require a nominee to receive 21 votes to be elected by the full council.
After multiple rounds and a series of runoffs to narrow slates, the council announced the five nominees who received enough support to be seated: David Harris; Dr. Claudio Moss; Dr. Morgan Rynberg; John Wesley Smith; and Caitlin (Kaelin) Russell. The clerk confirmed each name to the chamber after the final rounds of voting.
Council staff and special counsel explained and enforced the council’s multi-round election procedure when multiple nominees competed for the remaining seats, including appearing to hold successive votes and then dropping the lowest vote-getters until winning thresholds were met. Special counsel Darby explained the procedure to the body during the contest and clarified that a previously removed candidate had been returned to the slate for an additional round after an earlier procedural error.
Council chairing staff reminded members that a conflict-of-interest that prevented a member from voting in an earlier round could be removed for subsequent rounds if the conflict no longer applied. The council repeatedly reminded members that nominees must obtain 21 votes to be selected.
At the end of the process, the vice mayor asked those elected to stand and be recognized. Several council members thanked all nominees for putting themselves forward to serve.
Elections (Advisory Committee on Transportation): elected—David Harris; Dr. Claudio Moss; Dr. Morgan Rynberg; John Wesley Smith; Caitlin (Kaelin) Russell. Voting requirement: 21 votes per seat; final tallies for each individual ballot were not read into the record by name.
The council noted the standard two-meeting rule for confirmations; these elected nominees will serve two-year terms as stated in the agenda item.
