City council vacancies

[Brad Presutto]

At this point, I am not certain about my political future in Lakewood. While I am passionate about this community and will continue to serve in the same capacity as I am in now, the voters sent a very loud message in my ward (and in the other ward races too) on how they viewed the progressive agenda for Lakewood. I know my position during the campaign regarding Sam was it would be a slight to the voters if he were to be appointed after losing the election. While not exactly the same for a Ward vs At-Large position, I think that mindset needs to be considered.

Furthermore, while Laura, Jeff, and I were not part of the hospital issue originally, the residents (on both sides) have determined where we place in that dichotomy. (I know Lindsey Grdina also announced today, I would caution the new council’s appointment of her given her inability to get beyond the primary. (Full disclosure, I am a big fan of Lindsey. I would have much rather had the run off be between Laura and Lindsey than Laura and Tess.)) But at the end of the day, this appointment is an At-Large position and needs to represent the will of the city.

I do think we need to be strategic and smart on how we fill this vacancy and be realistic on how it will be decided. There will only be six votes.

You will not convince me that Litten, Neff, or Bullock will vote for anyone but those loyal to the Fitzgerald/Summers administration without offering the perfect compromise. At this point, given how quickly it was announced, I have a strong feeling that choice is Jenn Pae. If it turns out to be someone else, that person (or Jenn Pae for the sake of argument) will have an automatic three votes.

I trust that Rader, O’Malley, and Shachner will go in unbiased. I know Shachner has some political career aspirations so I hope he learned the lessons that burned Bullock and O’Leary by trying to fly too close to the sun too fast. I fully believe he will view all aspects of the person before committing to a vote.

All that being said, they only have sixty days to make the decision before Meghan just makes the appointment. This is what will hopefully bring balance and a decision quickly. As a result, there needs to be a candidate that Rader, O’Malley, and Shachner can rally around that can sway one or all of the other three that it’s a fair compromise. If Rader, O’Malley, and Shachner are divided, it will be much easier for the other three to pull off Rader, O’Malley, and/or Shachner for the sake of resolving and moving forward. I think having several candidates to choose from only makes the scenario of a Jenn Pae type from being appointed more probable.

When the formal process is announced and opened, I hope everyone who is considering a run evaluates everything from the good they can do, the probability of it happening, and the overall benefit of Lakewood. Whomever City Council appoints should be someone who is already a leader within the community, preferably someone not divisive. I also hope they give a hard look at diversifying representation on City Council. For an at large position, this person needs to have the experience and ability to reach a multitude of demographics to make sure everyone’s voice feels heard.

Regardless of how open the process is, all of these elected officials should hear from the community who we prefer. While I think the Lakewood Observer offers the most open, transparent process for residents to voice those concerns, everyone in town should be voicing their concerns and preferences to their Ward reps and the other two At-Large reps. Democracy is a year round, participation sport. While this role is only for two years, this person realistically has a two year head start on their next four year term. It’s important to not be passive about this decision and encourage our public servants to make the decision that benefits all of us.

[Kate McCarthy]

As far as I know, only two people have publicly stated they are interested in the council seat soon to be vacated by Meghan George ... Jenn Pae and Laura Rodriguez-Carbone. Laura, in my opinion, would be great and is not a divisive person. Why do we need to speculate about some mythical neutral person? Laura is completely independent, eminently qualified, and would bring some much needed diversity to our elected government.

Okay, say I'm the new Council, comprised mostly of people who are, to varying degrees, sympathetic to the "old guard." Convince me that Laura is neutral. I'd ask the same about Jenn Pae but really there's hardly anyone here to ask.

I never said Laura was neutral and I really cannot conceive of what "neutral council person" would be. Vanilla, white, male? Quite frankly, I think it is a silly construct. Laura is independent. Someone like Pae is not. And Pae has been shown to be one of the most divisive public figures in Lakewood.

[Dan Alaimo]

I agree with Brad on many points he raises, although not on his pessimism about his future or that of Progressive Dems in Lakewood. He's a good man who will serve well if/when elected. Political leanings go in and out of favor and this may well have been an off year for Progressives in general.

He's correct about the split on council, but it will not continue long into the future, and we may well see the last gasp of the FitzGerald-Summers machine in the vote for the replacement council person. City Hall will be a different place after a few months with Meghan George and without Mike Summers, and the alliances of today may not hold up tomorrow. That's something for council to keep in mind as it selects a new at-large rep. Things will be pretty different the next time they run for office.

Who it will be is another matter. After this election, I don't think the Progressive candidates or the old guard represented by Pae and O'Leary will be selected. The Progressives did not fare well with voters, although Meghan George won the mayoralty. Jenn Pae has a lot of experience but has alienated a lot of people though her Facebook group management. Sam O'Leary got almost half the vote, but ran a sloppy campaign, spending a lot of money from outside the city in a losing effort.

The city still has deep divisions and these need to be addressed. The right pick for council could make a difference. While only two have shown interest so far, council has 60 days to fill it from the the time of the opening, which will probably be the first of the year. It's been less than a week since the election. In that time, I hope many diverse and talented people step up. Maybe "neutral" was a poor choice of words on my part, but it should be someone who appeals to a wide spectrum of Lakewood's population. This is one the few times I hope for a unanimous decision by council.

[Bridget Conant]

The Progressives did not fare well with voters, although Meghan George won the mayoralty.

I’m not seeing where you get that conclusion.

First, Sam O’Leary repeatedly claimed on his printed literature that he was a Progressive candidate. We can argue whether he truly was, or not (he wasn’t!), but I don’t think that’s what sunk him, at all.

Second, on the level of local council races, I contend there isn’t really any difference between Dems that matters except whether they embrace the old Guard and the machine politics - think Budish, Jackson, Summers, Fitz, and all the rest, or look to new entrants that are not obligated by debt to the county machine. We saw that in the last election when Rader and George topped all the “standard” candidates.

Your political philosophy is of less concern to people when voting for council representation. They want someone they know will listen to them, take their calls, address their complaints, and show up to meetings. It’s a day to day job, not a “bigger picture” job.

[Dan Alaimo]

In the last few days, I've heard it several times: Pae is not going to get it. The remaining "old guard" blows with the wind, and the wind is blowing.

[Kate McCarthy]

Your political philosophy is of less concern to people when voting for council representation. They want someone they know will listen to them, take their calls, address their complaints, and show up to meetings. It’s a day to day job, not a “bigger picture” job.

According to the unofficial results, O'Leary lost his ward with 1645 going to Meghan and 1497 to O'Leary. All that money cannot overcome a constituency feeling ill-served. I hope going forward that the new council will hold a candidate's commitment to constituent services a high priority.

Marx and Nowlin did not respond to emails I sent during the hospital mess. Either did O'Leary but he wasn't my council representative. I have found all three current council-at-large members to be responsive. That is fundamental. That matters. And if a member of council fails to do the basic job, people remember when they head to the polls.

[Bridget Conant]

O'Leary lost his ward with 1645 going to Meghan and 1497 to O'Leary.

And there you go. Though that’s pretty embarrassing.

O’Leary could have spent $300,000 and he would still have lost.

Do politicians ever grasp that they actually have to listen to people’s concerns? Are they so busy planning for their next office, and kissing ass for money, and planning development behind closed doors, to do the job they were elected to do?

O ‘Leary was too focused on moving up. He made the same mistakes Tom Bullock, Ed Fitzgerald, and many others did.

I hope Shachner and Neff pay attention. We all know they have their eyes on another prize.

[dl meckes]

If like to see Bill Call fill one of the seats and Council should get to know Charles Brown, as well.

[Stan Austin]

Bill would be one of the most unpredictably, objective persons to ever serve on a government body!