Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Council Appointment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Troutdale council appoints Zach Andrews to fill vacant council seat amid public calls to revise appointment process
Summary
The Troutdale City Council voted to appoint Zach Andrews to a council vacancy. Public speakers and several council members urged the city to review its vacancy-appointment process and consider a charter amendment to defer to voter preferences when vacancies arise after an election.
Troutdale city councilors voted to appoint Zach Andrews to fill a vacancy on the council on Feb. 11, 2025, approving a resolution to seat him immediately.
Supporters of Andrews told the council he has served on planning and advisory bodies and said he would continue those duties as a councilor. Andrews thanked the council and said he would serve for the remainder of the term.
Multiple public commenters urged the council to change the process used to fill vacancies that occur at or immediately after an election. Paul Wilcox, a Troutdale resident, told the council that the city charter’s vacancy provisions (cited as Section 28) do not require an application process and argued that, when a vacancy is created by an election, the city should give weight to the next-highest vote getter. "Since the 2000 election, there's been an incumbent midterm councilor running for mayor in every election," Wilcox said, and he urged the council to “defer to the voice of the voters.”
Another resident, Bat Lamey, asked the council to treat election-created vacancies differently from midterm resignations and to consider a charter amendment so the voters’ preference is honored in future cases. Several councilors acknowledged those concerns and said the council would discuss the issue later this year.
The council’s roll call vote approved the resolution appointing Andrews. City staff said arrangements will be made for a swearing-in before the next regular meeting.
The council also noted that changes or clarifications to the municipal code and to how the consent agenda is described may be warranted; a resident had asked that a resolution modifying the Public Safety Service Delivery Working Group (PSWG) membership be removed from the consent agenda for public explanation, but the council adopted that item on consent (see Votes at a glance).
