Election's over, now what?

It would seem logical to allow the next candidate who received the most votes for city council, Chuck Buquet, to fill the vacancy. Or is this too simple? :)

How about a fresh, new face, youth, no political background, no ties to Contractors, Developers, Police, Fire Union, etc.
Think about it......we need new young ideas, give someone a chance that has the desire.

The only reason Chuck got more votes was because he raised almost $90,000 from union, developers, special interest etc... ANY candidate raising that kind of money better finish in top 3. So if you really look at it he spent all that money and still nobody wanted him.

LOL...if people spend money on candidates, there must be qualities they see in the person!!! He (Chuck) received the votes, didn't he?

I bet at least 90% if not more of the city council votes are unanimous decisions. This council for years is, and will remain so with our new crew, non-controversial, non-change, and non-creative.
For that reason I suggest they put a statue of Rex in his old chair and move on with business. There will be no impact on vote outcomes with either four votes or five votes since everything is unanimous. We we can then remember all the good things Rex did for us during his term in office. If we don't like something we can point our finger at Rex and say it's all his fault. Then, take a vote and move on to the next issue at hand.

Wow...what squeaky wheels!

I agree that the next highest vote getter should be appointed to the open seat on the city council

If we go with the person who received the greatest number of votes, it should be Steinorth.
Watch how red Michael's face gets.
No more has beens, that's all we have on the council.
Time for NEW blood, 2nd chance to make it right.
No special interests....no union ties or influence or control.
Come on folks, this is not rocket science, make a decision that is not the easy way out.
Alexander already stated he doesn't want more than one term, so this was all an exercise to see if he still had it? What a waste of our time.

If Steinorth wasn't so full of himself and followed respectful protocol getting to the Mayor's office, he'd probably be on city council! But, he didn't...his ego skipped directly over to Mayor. His loss, definitely our gain. And, most importantly, the MAJORITY of our community does not agree with you, Gourmet Chef. The people have spoken, and VOTES DO COUNT! Next in line running for city council should take the seat.

Gourmet chef wrote:
Alexander already stated he doesn't want more than one term, so this was all an exercise to see if he still had it? What a waste of our time.

He might run for Mayor next time?

Gourmet Chef was referring to Monday's article in which Alexander is quoted as saying, "I do not plan on running again." During the interview, Alexander was talking about retirement. But who knows, Mariann. Four years is a long time. He might change his mind by then but when I talked to him, it sounded like he thought 2014 would be a good time to retire.

Technically, the council doesn't even need to fill the vacancy. They only have to decide what to do (or not to do) by the end of the month.

So, why not "None of the above"? :-D

BTW, I'm really starting to hate the captcha.

What if the council doesn't fill the vacancy and some day it has to vote on whether to pass an ordinance requiring a captcha on the city website and it's deadlocked 2-2. What then? BTW, I hate the captcha, too. There's definitely something wrong with the comment portion of this blog and I can't find anyone to help me figure out what's wrong with it. Sorry.

Did we vote for Spagnola and Michael last election?
I have a vage memory of that the same thing happend. It had to do with Diane Willims and Rex.

Yes, voters supported Spagnolo and Michael for re-election.

Sorry, I did not make myself clear.
I mean when they started in the City Council.

Spagnolo and Michael were both elected the first time around. They weren't appointed.

In the event of a tie, any motion would simply not pass.

Speaking of captchas on the city's site, did you notice that the city just revamped their web site?

Yeah, it's a fancy website. It's their "soft opening." I guess they'll try promoting it at the parade on Saturday.

I think what mariann [sic] is remembering is (Felon) Rex's and Diane's backdoor deal the last time there were appointments to be made; after Biane and Dutton were elected to higher offices.

That left Mayor Bill Alexander, The Felon, and Bi-Di as the only 3 sitting members of the council.

Brown Act be damned! Rex and Diane met at Coco's and decided whom they were going to appoint. Only needed two votes for a majority. Don Kurth and Bobby Howdyshell were their selections (yuck).

Editorial sidebar - at least in Chicago, they have the class to meet in a smoke filled backroom; in New York at the Italian Deli; and Atlanta, the BBQ.
Coco's ?? Really ?? How much more backwater could you get?

Back to our sordid tale: Council Meeting comes up; agenda item presented; Diane makes a motion to appoint their hapless choices, Rex seconds the motion. Poor Mayor Bill is cold-cocked by these two. He asks for discussion, there is none, Lawyer Markman insists that protocol requires a vote on the motion, and of course it passes 2 -1; two appointments in 30 seconds.

Turns out the violations of the Brown Act rendered the vote moot. So they had a re-do at the next meeting with the same results.

Neither Kurth nor Howdyshell won in the next election although Kurth did ultimately beat Mayor Bill two years later, and of course failed spectacularly in his high $$$ ploy for State Assembly.

Lessons learned:
1).It's no wonder that Mayor Bill and Diane have bad blood to this day. She acted like a shrill, and has never apologised for her and Rex's antics.
2). For those who remember this dark chapter, there is fear and loathing that two empty seats need to be decided, given Diane's way of operating. She's already said it should be open to the public; i,e., her hand picked appointment.
Keep you eyes open at Coco's for a meeting between Sam and Diane. It's coming!

Geo O Jungle said

I am glad You remember what I didn't.
you are so right.

Wendy, this going to be something in the paper? Are you allowed to write about this since DB endorsed her?

If you mean whether I'll cover the process of filling the vacancy, but of course! I've already started covering it as evidenced by Monday's article in the link. Are you talking about the Coco's controversy and whether I'll write about it? I don't think so. That was years ago and was covered extensively by my predecessors. ... The editorial board that makes political endorsements does not work in the same department as I do. That is typical of newspapers. I do not get to take part in the endorsement process. So the fact that the DB endorsed Diane Williams, Meg, Carly and others has no bearing on what I cover or don't cover.