The Observation Deck

Charters, bylaws, and constitutions reward reading, and I recommend them to everyone.

Third Amended Charter of Lakewood, Ohio
Article II Section 2.2 subsection (b)

"Vacancy. Vacancies in council shall be filled by appointment made by the remaining council members. In the event council does not appoint a successor within 60 days of the occurrence of a vacancy, the mayor may fill the vacancy. If the vacancy occurs more than two years and 120 days before the municipal primary election for the next term of that office, the appointee shall serve only until his or her successor is elected and qualified at the next regular municipal election. If the vacancy occurs afterward,the appointee shall serve until the end of the unexpired term of the former council member. Any vacancy that results from a recall election shall be filled in the manner provided by Article Nine."

So that means the current council - George, Rader, O’Leary, O’Malley, Litten, Bullock and Anderson vote for the replacement?

Or will the newly elected council be deciding?

As far as I know, no appointment can be made to a council vacancy until the vacancy exists, in this case when Councilperson George leaves council to become mayor.

Terms for council, and mayor, begin on January 1.

So the pending vacancy, and the process of appointing a replacement, both begin January 1, 2020. The process would therefore be up to the 2020 city council (or the new mayor if council does not appoint a replacement in 60 days).

mjkuhns wrote: The process would therefore be up to the 2020 city council).

Please remind us who the six members will be comprising "the 2020 city council" (minus the empty mayor-elect George seat)? Thank you in advance.

Thanks, Matt.

I always appreciate not being the only charter nerd in the room.

You've got it right.


Steve


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Peter Grossetti wrote:

mjkuhns wrote: The process would therefore be up to the 2020 city council).

Please remind us who the six members will be comprising "the 2020 city council" (minus the empty mayor-elect George seat)? Thank you in advance.

You’ll have Rader, O’Malley, Schachner, Litten, Neff, and Bullock voting.

I’d hope they’d realize what a polarizing choice Pae would be.

Bridget Conant wrote:

Peter Grossetti wrote:

mjkuhns wrote: The process would therefore be up to the 2020 city council).

Please remind us who the six members will be comprising "the 2020 city council" (minus the empty mayor-elect George seat)? Thank you in advance.

You’ll have Rader, O’Malley, Schachner, Litten, Neff, and Bullock voting.

I’d hope they’d realize what a polarizing choice Pae would be.

I think if they voted to appoint her it would be political suicide and used against them in future elections. I've encountered people from all walks and political stripes in Lakewood who feel the Lakewood Community Facebook page is a joke and the management of it authoritarian. They are familiar with her name and when I tell them she's the finance director they are shocked and wonder when does she have time to do her job. They have created a bubble over there and don't realize most of the people in Lakewood don't live in that bubble.

Kate McCarthy wrote:

Bridget Conant wrote:

Peter Grossetti wrote:

mjkuhns wrote: The process would therefore be up to the 2020 city council).

Please remind us who the six members will be comprising "the 2020 city council" (minus the empty mayor-elect George seat)? Thank you in advance.

You’ll have Rader, O’Malley, Schachner, Litten, Neff, and Bullock voting.

I’d hope they’d realize what a polarizing choice Pae would be.

I think if they voted to appoint her it would be political suicide and used against them in future elections. I've encountered people from all walks and political stripes in Lakewood who feel the Lakewood Community Facebook page is a joke and the management of it authoritarian. They are familiar with her name and when I tell them she's the finance director they are shocked and wonder when does she have time to do her job. They have created a bubble over there and don't realize most of the people in Lakewood don't live in that bubble.

Exactly.

She hasn’t endeared herself to residents.

Many, many people were concerned at how she was running that Facebook page while being paid by the taxpayer. Then pretending it was her private page to skirt the first amendment issues. In which case, WTF was she running a personal FB page while on the city payroll? No matter how you looked at it, the optics are terrible.

On top of that, she alienated a lot of people by banning them and suppressing the conversations she didn’t like. They didn’t even have to be political! If you complained about trash pickup, BOOM, you were gone!

What does that say about her temperament to deal with constituents, especially since not all will share her political views?

It’s a horrible joke to play on residents. Yes people, your new councilperson will be a woman who has no tolerance for differing views! Great.

Matt Kuhns has correctly posted the Charter requirements and Stephen Davis (who is part of Lakewood's "deep state" that serves on Charter review commissions) has ratified Matt's post.
Now, it ultimately will be up to the new, and old Council to appoint a replacement which is dependent on the exact time of resignation of a council seat and the swearing in of a new Mayor.
Might I suggest that the current council, knowing that a vacancy will occur, use the procedure that is used by the School Board and ask that interested candidates submit their interest in an application.
The current Council could then conduct public interviews with prospective candidates.
Then, on or about 12:01 AM January 1, 2020 a decision from Council might be expected.

Stan Austin wrote:Matt Kuhns has correctly posted the Charter requirements and Stephen Davis (who is part of Lakewood's "deep state" that serves on Charter review commissions) has ratified Matt's post.
Now, it ultimately will be up to the new, and old Council to appoint a replacement which is dependent on the exact time of resignation of a council seat and the swearing in of a new Mayor.
Might I suggest that the current council, knowing that a vacancy will occur, use the procedure that is used by the School Board and ask that interested candidates submit their interest in an application.
The current Council could then conduct public interviews with prospective candidates.
Then, on or about 12:01 AM January 1, 2020 a decision from Council might be expected.

Let's stick with the Charter.

This is a task for the city council that is sworn-in in 2020.

No shortcuts, please, Mr. Austin.

Correction acknowledged

The vote will be a true test of the new council.

Will they look to fill the position with a dedicated public servant who acknowledges and embraces the diversity we claim to love in Lakewood?

Or will they kowtow to the good old boy establishment and allow a divisive figure to claim that seat?

Do they want inclusiveness and diversity, or were they merely paying lip service to get elected?

We shall see.

Mark Kindt wrote:

Stan Austin wrote:Matt Kuhns has correctly posted the Charter requirements and Stephen Davis (who is part of Lakewood's "deep state" that serves on Charter review commissions) has ratified Matt's post.
Now, it ultimately will be up to the new, and old Council to appoint a replacement which is dependent on the exact time of resignation of a council seat and the swearing in of a new Mayor.
Might I suggest that the current council, knowing that a vacancy will occur, use the procedure that is used by the School Board and ask that interested candidates submit their interest in an application.
The current Council could then conduct public interviews with prospective candidates.
Then, on or about 12:01 AM January 1, 2020 a decision from Council might be expected.

Let's stick with the Charter.

This is a task for the city council that is sworn-in in 2020.

No shortcuts, please, Mr. Austin.

Most ordinances have three readings, that is, three council meetings, so taxpayers can provide input. This isn't an ordinance, but will there even be one public hearing? There would be a line out of the door of people complaining about her handling of the Lakewood Community page. I was recently booted for posting about a lost dog, so count me in.

Another big concern, and reason for her seeking the position, was the handling of the city's finances. At one point I heard rumblings that the books were cooked, frozen and set to thaw out under the next mayor. Could be the reason more people didn't run for mayor. Perhaps some of our resident document gurus could address this.

Good example of the vindictiveness of Pae’s control of that Facebook page and her level of contempt fir those who don’t agree with her.

Booted for posting about a lost dog!

That’s Jenn Pae!

Anyone who opposed the Clinic deal is persona non grata to her.

It’s just that HALF the city is on that list!

Yeah, that’ll work out well.

mjkuhns wrote:
So the pending vacancy, and the process of appointing a replacement, both begin January 1, 2020. The process would therefore be up to the 2020 city council (or the new mayor if council does not appoint a replacement in 60 days).

Is there an established process or precedent for a process?

Is this an open process?

How does one apply?