City Council discusses policy on filling vacant Ward 3 seat
Date: 5/9/2012
May 9, 2012By Debbie Gardner
debbieg@thereminder.comWESTFIELD — The City Council is now short one member, and there was some disagreement during the May 3 meeting on how best to fill the vacant seat.
At the meeting, Assistant City Clerk Gordonna Roy read into the official record a letter of resignation from Ward 3 City Councilor Peter J. Miller. In the letter Miller, who had served on the council since 2004, said he was pursuing career-related education at Westfield State University and felt this change would reduce his ability to effectively represent the residents of his ward.
The letter stated that the resignation of the longtime councilor, who chaired the City Properties Committee, served on the Government Relations and Personnel Action committees and acted as liaison to the city library and Council on Aging, was effective April 30.
City Council President Christopher Keefe announced that the council would host a special meeting on May 14 at 6 p.m. in the City Council chambers to discuss and review potential candidates for Miller's council seat. At Large City Councilor Agma Marie Sweeney asked Keefe to explain the application process "for anyone in Ward 3 who would like to be considered" as a replacement for Miller.
The council is scheduled to select a replacement for Miller during its May 17 meeting.
Keefe explained that, at the meeting on May 14, the sitting council members would review the applications of any candidates seeking to fill the remainder of the term for Miller's seat.
"They need to contact a [sitting] city councilor to be sponsored," Keefe said, adding that any candidate selected to fill the seat would need the support of seven councilors to be elected to the Ward 3 seat.
The three qualifications necessary for consideration, Keefe noted, are that the candidate "be a registered voter, reside in Ward 3 and be willing to serve."
He also said an applicant must be able to garner support from at least a sitting City Councilor to be considered.
Though Keefe said there were probably a "tremendous number of people out there who are qualified," because the City Charter only allows for 15 days to fill the seat, "we don't have time to wade through 50 or 75 applications" and that obtaining support of a members of the council that the applicant knows best prior to the May 14 meeting would be essential.
"At some point it hast to come down to one, two candidates," prior to the May 17 meeting, he added.
At Large City Councilor David Flaherty suggested that individuals be allowed to submit applications to the City Clerk prior to the date of the special meeting so as "to have as many people come in as possible, not just the ones we happen to know" apply to fill the seat.
He added that were this an open election, wide participation would be encouraged, and asked his fellow councilors to get their nominations in "as soon as possible" so that any councilor who wanted to interview a candidate before the May 14 meeting would have an opportunity to do so.
Ward 6 City Councilor raised the point that the city has "a process in place" for replacing a councilor that has resigned, and that Flaherty's suggestion that councilors submit their nominations prior to the May 14 meeting was, in essence an alteration of the rules.
"This is an election year, and we have to follow due process whether we like it or not," Crean said.
Keefe said, "At the end of the day this is a political decision. There's no check box, no resumes" that will influence this appointment.
Flaherty withdrew his suggestion when it was made clear the council would not be voting on applicants at the May 14 meeting.
