Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Council Appointment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Clawson council schedules Dec. 8 interviews for vacant seat after public debate over election mandate
Summary
Following extensive public comment urging the council to honor recent election results, Clawson City Council voted to interview all four applicants for a vacant council seat at a Dec. 8 special meeting and to select a replacement at its Dec. 16 meeting.
Clawson —s City Council voted Tuesday to invite all four applicants for a vacant council seat to publicly answer questions at a special meeting on Dec. 8, scheduling the council—s final selection for the regular Dec. 16 meeting.
The decision came after a string of public comments that framed the appointment as a test of whether the newly seated council would heed the "expressed preferences" of voters in the recent election. Jamie Gills, a resident of the Tuckanoke neighborhood, urged councilors to apply Section 2-393 of the city ordinance and exclude a defeated incumbent from consideration, arguing "the election was a collective statement from our residents" for new leadership.
Other speakers urged a different approach. Jean Grant Nanovich and Linda Hale credited the current city manager—s work and warned against automatically excluding candidates who received votes; Katie Terrell and Lisonbee King publicly endorsed Alex Bishuk and said they would submit a petition of resident signatures to demonstrate continuing support.
Council members debated how to balance the certified vote tallies against the council—s statutory appointment authority. Mayor Moffitt and others said the council would consider the election results as part of its deliberations but also noted that Michigan law gives the council final appointment authority. After discussion, Councilor Tinland moved to hold interviews for all four applicants on Dec. 8 at 7 p.m.; the motion passed on roll call.
The council did not eliminate any applicants from consideration. City Manager remarks at the meeting clarified that each of the four applicants would be interviewed publicly and that the appointment vote would occur at the Dec. 16 regular meeting.
What happens next: The four applicants will appear for timed interviews at the Dec. 8 special meeting beginning at 7 p.m. The council has said it will deliberate and vote on a replacement at its Dec. 16 regular session.
Speakers quoted in this article are drawn from the Dec. 2 council meeting transcript.
