[Vision2020] Incumbent City Council Members Stacking theElection
Linda Pall
lpall at moscow.com
Fri Sep 28 15:35:05 PDT 2007
Dear Mike and Visionaries,
Since Mike singled me out, I think it would be helpful to be accurate. I abstained from confirming Tom LaMar at the June council meeting..
With the appointment process, I have held a consistent position, which I stated publicly at council meetings and to the press, from the announced departure of Bob Stout and the eventual decision to appoint a replacement for John Dickinson following the sad discovery of his remains in August.
I stated publicly in June, I made clear to Mayor Chaney, and I made clear to Tom LaMar after Nancy nominated him for the position, that I felt that the July to November period at the end of an election cycle, when the seat should be filled by the voters, ought to be filled by someone who was not intending to run for the Council. I felt that the appointment gave that person an unfair advantage in the election over other non-incumbent candidates. Had this appointment been made at the beginning of the election cycle, shortly after the 2005 election, selecting the fourth highest votegetter would be the reasonable and honorable thing to do. Indeed, I was the recipient of Don Mackin's promise to do just that when he was elected in 1977 as Mayor and resigned his council seat!
The further the time is from the original election and the closer to the replacement election, the more one could call into question whether or not the same sentiments still prevailed in the electorate. In any event, I was not given that option when Tom LaMar was appointed because the Mayor did not pick the fourth highest votegetter. Had there been genuine concern to appoint the fourth highest votegetter, July was the obvious time to adopt that process and then, perhaps, given that decision, the fifth highest votegetter from 2005 would have been the nominee in September.
In either case, because the appointment would be within three to five months of the election, I felt that the selection should not give an advantage or disadvantage to the candidates who decided to run for a council position. By the way, while I did not vote to confirm Tom Lamar, I stated that I thought he would be a fine addition to the council or something like that. The Daily News got it right if you decide to do research.
I hope Mike, Donovan and other readers of this space will review all the candidates and their track record over the many issues the Council must deal with: from budgets to growth to Parks, to the Comprehensive Plan revision to storm water issues to water quality and quantity to neighborhood preservation to economic development to the URA to the arts to expansion of the Paradise Path to diversity to Farmers Market, historic preservation, bike paths and trails, improved street standards, water conservation, expansion of the wastewater treatment plant, support for the City's livable wage and good benefits for city employees, expansion of the Dog Park, more pocket parks, progressive development policies, sustainable resource programs, community conversations and citizen participation, support for our 4th of July celebration, Welcome Home Vandals reception, follow up on the Ice Rink Task Force to keep the rink in Moscow, sensible transportation options for people and vehicles, coordinated right-sized economic development for Moscow and the Palouse; Affordable housing; Partnership Park Development, Livable, sustainable development goals for all city policies and programs; improved grass roots citizen participation… and there are more I just haven't had a chance to highlight here!
I'd appreciate your vote to continue working on these important concerns.
All the best,
Linda Pall
Moscow City Council
----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Curley
To: Vision 2020
Sent: Thursday, September 27, 2007 3:11 PM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Incumbent City Council Members Stacking theElection
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
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Date: Tue, 25 Sep 2007 20:06:44 -0700
From: donovanjarnold2005 at yahoo.com
To: thansen at moscow.com; msolomon at moscow.com; vision2020 at moscow.com; kcraine at verizon.net
CC: aaronament at moscow.com; nchaney at ci.moscow.id.us; jweber at moscow.com; tlamar at moscow.com; blambert at ci.moscow.id.us
Subject: 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 Hansen
Moscow, 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)
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From: vision2020-bounces at moscow.com [mailto:vision2020-bounces at moscow.com] On Behalf Of Donovan Arnold
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 9:46 PM
To: Mark Solomon; vision2020 at moscow.com; kcraine at verizon.net
Cc: aaronament at moscow.com; nchaney at ci.moscow.id.us; jweber at moscow.com; tlamar at moscow.com; blambert at ci.moscow.id.us
Subject: 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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