A vacancy exists on the city of Eau Claire Common Council due to a situation very similar to Oshkosh. In April, at-large council member Kerry Kincaid was elected Council President (the equivalent of our Mayor). That left a vacancy in the at-large seat held by Kincaid. The election runner-up, Scott Gunem, will not be automatically appointed to the seat (see his response to a previous post on this blog). Instead, the city council will accept applications to fill the vacancy. Below is a copy of the resolution/process approved by the Eau Claire common council on April 28th. Ms. Kincaid told me that a similar process was used 4 years ago when a seat became vacant. The process is also similar to what Appleton, LaCrosse, and other cities in the state have used.
RESOLUTION APPROVING THE PROCESS TO FILL AN EXISTING VACANCY ON THE CITY COUNCIL.
WHEREAS, a vacancy currently exists in one of the at-large positions of the Eau Claire City Council; and
WHEREAS, the City Council wishes to appoint someone to fill this position in a timely manner.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the City Council of the City of Eau Claire, that the City Council does hereby approve the process as outlined on the attached page to be followed to fill the position of at-large representative on the City Council.
Adopted
April 28, 2009
Suggested Process to Fill At-large vacancy on City Council
Term:
*From date of appointment to April 2010.
Requirements:
*18 years of age
*U.S. Citizen
*Resident of the City
*Qualified to register to vote
Process:
*Council approves process.
*Advertisement placed on city website.
*Advertisement placed in Leader Telegram on Saturday, May 2 & Sunday, May 3.
*Advertisement will be forwarded to Community Television to run on the government channel.
*A news release will be sent to the local media.
*Interested citizens submit letter of interest / application to City Clerk by 10:00 am on Friday, May 8.
Letters should include
*applicant’s name and address
*telephone number or method of contact
*brief statement, not exceeding one page, explaining why they wish to be appointed.
*Letters may be sent via the U. S. Postal Service OR e-mail:
USPS address:
Eau Claire City Clerk
203 S. Farwell St
Eau Claire WI 54701
E-mail address:
donna.austad@eauclairewi.gov
*Letters must be received by 10:00 am on Friday, May 8.
*Applicant information forwarded to City Council members with packets the afternoon of Friday, May 8
Consideration of appointment
*Applicants make brief presentation to Council on Monday, May 11.
*Selection procedure for Tuesday, May 12.
*Selection made by open – public ballot – show of hands. OR
*Council members will be given prepared ballot with applicants’ names. Council members will vote and sign their names to the ballots. Ballots will be collected and the votes read aloud and tallied.
*Successful applicant must receive a majority vote of ‘all members’ – six votes required.
*If there are more than two applicants, a first ballot will be taken. If no one receives a majority (six votes), all but the top two leading candidates are dropped and a second vote will be taken on the two remaining candidates.
3 comments:
The "Eau Claire Model" has yielded no fewer than 10 applicants for a single at-large seat. Interestingly, none of the 10 applicants sought this position in last year's election. It is heartening to see such interest in municipal governance. However, how do we explain the dearth of candidates in the election and the bounty of applicants for an appointed position? I suspect that part of the reason is that it is much easier to submit an application than to circulate nomination papers, run a campaign, and face the voters. The "Eau Claire Model" is a very tidy, time-saving process. If we overlook the mere fact that it short-circuits democracy, there is much to be said for it.
Just a quick update from Eau Claire, Tony. Seven of the 10 applicants took advantage of the opportunity to make presentations to the Council last night. Inexplicably, I was deemed an applicant, even though I did not submit an application and have repeatedly made this clear. I submitted a letter in which I stated my opposition to the application process, and this has been deemed an application. It gets crazier everyday. The Council votes today at 4:00.
Best wishes to the Oshkosh Council tonight! Regardless of the outcome, it will be better than what happened here in Eau Claire.
Here's how the Eau Claire Model played out:
1. Council agrees to disenfranchise voters.
2. Council solicits applications, making applicants think they have actual chance of joining Council.
3. By 8-1 vote, Council appoints colleague who sat on Council less than one month ago but chose not to seek reelection.
4. And they call it democracy.
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