[Vision2020] Incumbent City Council Members Stacking theElection

Thu Sep 27 15:11:18 PDT 2007

Donovan:
In your original post you stated:
In my opinion, the incumbent candidates on the City Council have demonstrated they are willing to use the power of their office to make damaging decisions against the people of Moscow, like preventing a quality candidates like Kit Craine from being on the ballot, for their own selfish interests and personal gains.

If you were to check I believe that you will find that only one incumbent told the mayor she would not confirm an appointee unless the appointee agreed not to run in the general election.  That incumbent also voted against the confirmation of Tom Lamar when he was appointed by the mayor.  I believe the vote on his appointment was 3--1.  However, two members, neither of which was Mr. Lamar nor Mr. Ament, took a different position when it came ot the appointment of the 5th member.  Perhaps their decisions were based on heart-felt issues of fairness, perhaps they were political, or perhaps they were something else entirely.  What is clear is that your condemnation of all three incumbents is misplaced.  I hope you will re-evaluate your voting choices accordingly.  Next time, perhaps it would be better to ask someone before you do the  "math does not lie" calculation (as you mentioned to Mark Solomon below).

Mike Curley

Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:06:44 -0700From: donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.comTo: thansen at moscow.com; msolomon at moscow.com; vision2020 at moscow.com; kcraine at verizon.netCC: aaronament at moscow.com; nchaney at ci.moscow.id.us; jweber at moscow.com; tlamar at moscow.com; blambert at ci.moscow.id.usSubject: Re: [Vision2020] Incumbent City Council Members Stacking theElection
Hansen,

Who are you talking to? Because obviously you aren't responding to any of the points I made. 

First, I was not complaining about the inactions of the Mayor. I was complaining about the inactions of the City Council.  

Second, the legalities of when, who, and how and city council member is or isn't appointed is not what was at issue, but rather the intent behind the delay. It isn't a matter or legality, it is a matter of ethics and putting the interests of the people above and beyond the interests of the political gains of its individual members. 

Everyday that Moscow goes without a representative fulfilling the duties and obligations of an elected office it is a hindrance to the city and the people. To allow that to continue needlessly for the political advance of office holder A, B, and C, is unethical in my opinion. You might be fine with that type of behavior, I am not. I am not discussing the legality of the right to be an asshole to the people you are suppose to serve, just the ethics of it. 

Since you seemed so confused, I will clarify for you; I do not believe the mayor acted wrongly, but the city council. Nor do I believe a city, state, or federal law was violated. I just think what they did was unethical, not illegal. 

Best,

Donovan

Tom Hansen <thansen at moscow.com> wrote:

Arnold stated:

“The majority of council members informed her they have reached a consensus that they would make not approve any appointment until after the last day to file as a candidate and be placed on the ballot . . . A vote was not taken, that was the problem. The City Council should have appointed a person to fill the vacancy ASAP” 

Question #1, Arnold:  How could a majority or consensus (your words) have been reached without a vote among the city council members?  

Question #2, Arnold:  Just where is it written that the mayor (or city council) is required to fill a vacancy immediately?

If I remember correctly (from an audio recording of a city council session I have on file), the council land staff discussed whether or not the mayor is required to appoint a replacement, whether or not a special election should be conducted, or whether or not the mayor may retain an empty seat on the council until the next scheduled election.

What has transpired concerning both vacancies is well within city policy (pronounced “code”) and staff guidelines.

Seeya round town, Moscow.Tom HansenMoscow, Idaho"We're a town of about 23,000 with 10,000 college students. The college students are not very active in local elections (thank goodness!)."- Dale Courtney (March 28, 2007) 

From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Donovan ArnoldSent: Monday, September 24, 2007 9:46 PMTo: Mark Solomon; vision2020 at moscow.com; kcraine at verizon.netCc: aaronament at moscow.com; nchaney at ci.moscow.id.us; jweber at moscow.com; tlamar at moscow.com; blambert at ci.moscow.id.usSubject: Re: [Vision2020] Incumbent City Council Members Stacking theElection

Mark,

I am assuming nothing. The Mayor consulted the City Council regarding an appointment. The majority of council members informed her they have reached a consensus that they would make not approve any appointment until after the last day to file as a candidate and be placed on the ballot. 

That is what the Mayor said, and no council member has contradicted it. A vote was not taken, that was the problem. The City Council should have appointed a person to fill the vacancy ASAP. The fact that they didn't was a move that damaged the city, and helped the majority of the City Council members running for reelection. 

Best,

Donovan Mark Solomon <msolomon at moscow.com> wrote:

Donovan,

You are assuming this was a decision that was put to a vote as opposed to the mayor sounding the Council members and making a decision based on something other than majority rules.

m.

At 6:54 PM -0700 9/24/07, Donovan Arnold wrote:

Mark,

Just like I told Tom I., I know because the math does not lie. The majority of the council at the time was at least three, the minority no more than two, and three are up for election, two are not, so it is not possible to have a majority without at least one person running again.

If a politician stands to personally gain greatly from a decision made using their office, they need to make very clear those reasons, especially when such a decision is made and damages democracy or the public interest. 

Best,

Donovan Mark Solomon <msolomon at moscow.com> wrote:
Donovan,

How do you know that the objection came from the incumbents seeking re-election and not the two members whose terms are not yet expired? Aside from that, I agree with you that the seat should have been filled as soon as it was legally possible to do so regardless of proximity to the filing deadline or person to be appointed.

m.

At 11:04 AM -0700 9/22/07, Donovan Arnold wrote:
The Mayor has indicated that she could not appoint anyone to the city council because members of the council were unwilling to approve any appointment until after the last filing date to be placed on the ballot. http://www.moscow.id.us/pressrelease.asp

In my opinion it is unethical behavior to use the power of your office to rig the ballot as to not have any serious competition on election night. Kit Craine should have been appointed long ago, and for other members of the city council to keep her (or any new appointee) off the ballot so they have a better chance of reelection seems unbecoming of an elected official and this clearly moves AGAINST the best interests of the people of Moscow to have as many qualified candidates as possible on the ballot.

In my opinion, the incumbent candidates on the City Council have demonstrated they are willing to use the power of their office to make damaging decisions against the people of Moscow, like preventing a quality candidates like Kit Craine from being on the ballot, for their own selfish interests and personal gains.

MOSCOW DESERVES BETTER.

Best,

Donovan J Arnold

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