Filling vacant council seats
The April 2 editorial in the Oshkosh Northwestern, which can be found by going here focused on how best to fill a vacancy on the Oshkosh Common Council in the event Paul Esslinger is elected mayor next Tuesday, which would make his council seat vacant because he is in the middle of his council term. Council seats which become vacant during a council member’s term have traditionally been filled by appointment of a majority of the council.
According to the editorial, Esslinger has told the Northwestern’s editorial board that if he is elected mayor, he would seek applications and resumes from the public to fill his unfinished term. Presumably those applications would then be vetted through by he and the council and a vote be taken, with the majority winner filling that seat, but it is unclear for certain how it would be handled because the Oshkosh Common Council has not yet been faced with the situation of a popularly elected mayor needing to have his or her council seat filled. Nor has the council yet had any real discussions on how to do this.
The Northwestern has suggested that the best way to fill a vacated seat would be to have the runner-up in that same year’s council election fill the seat, and its editorial board points out the reasons why this is the best way to handle such a situation, as opposed to the method suggested by Esslinger, or by some other means. The editorial makes good sense. And it may be the best way to fill any council seat that becomes available at any juncture: Offer it to the runner-up from that year's council race.
But there is another issue that several people have brought to my attention. It’s come up every time Esslinger has run for mayor, but I’ve heard it more this time than in the past.
That is that the council should do something to fix this problem from even happening in the first place. The way the council elections are scheduled, three seats are elected one year; four the next year. As a result, when Esslinger runs for mayor or if someone on his same election cycle runs for the position of mayor, and they lose, they continue to serve on the council, Conversely, if someone in the other election cycle decides to run for mayor, they have to essentially decide whether they want to run for council or for mayor. Running for both positions, if even possible from a legal standpoint, would only cause confusion for voters – and a similar situation of having to fill a vacated seat in the event said person would get elected to the positions of both councilor and mayor. Again, I don’t know if it’s legally possible to run for both, nor do I know how to fix this pesky election cycle problem, but I see the concern some people have and agree that it should be remedied if it can be, and if so, sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, how do you think Esslinger’s council seat should be filled if he’s elected mayor? Vote in our online poll.
According to the editorial, Esslinger has told the Northwestern’s editorial board that if he is elected mayor, he would seek applications and resumes from the public to fill his unfinished term. Presumably those applications would then be vetted through by he and the council and a vote be taken, with the majority winner filling that seat, but it is unclear for certain how it would be handled because the Oshkosh Common Council has not yet been faced with the situation of a popularly elected mayor needing to have his or her council seat filled. Nor has the council yet had any real discussions on how to do this.
The Northwestern has suggested that the best way to fill a vacated seat would be to have the runner-up in that same year’s council election fill the seat, and its editorial board points out the reasons why this is the best way to handle such a situation, as opposed to the method suggested by Esslinger, or by some other means. The editorial makes good sense. And it may be the best way to fill any council seat that becomes available at any juncture: Offer it to the runner-up from that year's council race.
But there is another issue that several people have brought to my attention. It’s come up every time Esslinger has run for mayor, but I’ve heard it more this time than in the past.
That is that the council should do something to fix this problem from even happening in the first place. The way the council elections are scheduled, three seats are elected one year; four the next year. As a result, when Esslinger runs for mayor or if someone on his same election cycle runs for the position of mayor, and they lose, they continue to serve on the council, Conversely, if someone in the other election cycle decides to run for mayor, they have to essentially decide whether they want to run for council or for mayor. Running for both positions, if even possible from a legal standpoint, would only cause confusion for voters – and a similar situation of having to fill a vacated seat in the event said person would get elected to the positions of both councilor and mayor. Again, I don’t know if it’s legally possible to run for both, nor do I know how to fix this pesky election cycle problem, but I see the concern some people have and agree that it should be remedied if it can be, and if so, sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, how do you think Esslinger’s council seat should be filled if he’s elected mayor? Vote in our online poll.
posted by Cheryl Hentz at 11:48 PM
2 Comments:
Why our city government does not have a policy or resolution in place for handling this, I'll never understand. This is not the first time this has occurred.
However, there's no time like today to create one.
Place it at the top of the Council "to-do" list pronto.
I couldn't agree with you more, CJ. It is time our local governmental bodies started being proactive instead of reactive. Since we have a new regime coming in (I'll comment more on this in a separate post when I have more time) perhaps they can start working with their colleagues to make some things happen that have long been put off.
Developing a gift policy is another that we've heard a lot about, but nothing's ever been done. Are these things at the top of the priority list? No, but hopefully it won't absorb too much time to get them knocked out. Besides, look how much time NOT having such policies has wasted in the past. As things come up, let's get them addressed so we can more efficiently and effectivly deal with them in the future.
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