<DIV>Mark,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>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. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>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. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Best,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Donovan <BR><BR><B><I>Mark Solomon <msolomon@moscow.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"> <STYLE type=text/css><!-- blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li { padding-top: 0 ; padding-bottom: 0 } --></STYLE>
<DIV>Donovan,</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>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.</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>m.</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>At 11:04 AM -0700 9/22/07, Donovan Arnold wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite">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. <A href="http://www.moscow.id.us/pressrelease.asp">http://www.moscow.id.us/pressrelease.asp</A></BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite"> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite">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. </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite"> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite">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.</BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite"> </BLOCKQUOTE>
<BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite">MOSCOW DESERVES BETTER.</BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite"> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite">Best,</BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite"> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite">Donovan J Arnold<BR></BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite"> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite"> <HR SIZE=1> </BLOCKQUOTE> <BLOCKQUOTE cite="" type="cite">Got a little couch potato?<BR>Check out fun <A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/evt=48248/*http://search.yahoo.com/search?fr=oni_on_mail&p=summer+activities+for+kids&cs=bz"><SPAN></SPAN>summer activities for kids.</A></BLOCKQUOTE> <DIV><BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><p> 
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