Franklin council appoints Jeff King to fill trustee vacancy

Jeff King was appointed Tuesday night to the Village of Franklin council to fill the trustee seat vacated by Mike Seltzer.

Council members nominated and heard from six applicants before holding a roll-call vote. Trustee Daniel Perez nominated King; the motion was seconded. The roll call recorded one no vote from Trustee Pam Hansen and four yes votes from Trustee Daniel Perez, Trustee Angelina Slotkin, Trustee David Sali and President David Goldberg, giving King the majority needed to be seated. President Goldberg said, "Jeff, congratulations. We look forward to working with you." (President David Goldberg.)

King, who said he moved to Franklin in 2022 and works at Google, told the council he plans to run for the council seat in the next election and named the village budget situation as a near-term priority. "I think the biggest problem facing the village is mostly budgetary," King said, adding he would work on ways to communicate options to voters. (Jeff King.)

The council followed the process they described at the meeting: the appointment fills the vacancy until the next election; appointees may run for the seat. President Goldberg said appointees have 10 days to be sworn in.

The appointment followed a public application and interview process that included six candidates who each answered standard questions about priorities and whether they intended to run in the next election. Several trustees said demonstrated engagement with the village and willingness to run in November were factors in their choices. The council also discussed the difficulty of making an appointment when multiple qualified residents step forward.

Jeff King will be sworn in within 10 days or at the next available session to take his seat and begin duties.