Ortonville – The village council will name a new coucil member at the April 5 meeting, following the March 22 resignation of Gina Joy Roemer, just seven days after she was elected to council.
Council was unable to appoint a replacement for Roemer after a motion to appoint election candidate, Bob Flath, died due to lack of support.
Flath lost the March 8 village council election by one vote.
At the village meeting, council member Mary Kassuba motioned to appoint the vacant seat to election candidate Bob Flath, who lost the election by one vote, however Roemer interrupted the motion with a suggestion that council consider appointing village resident Larry Hayden, who did not run in the recent village election.
‘The election was held and Mr. Flath did not win,? said Roemer, who ran uncontested in the election.
‘I have a Mill Street neighbor here that should be noted and I would support Mr. Hayden’s intention,? she continued.
Roemer also, explained she thought her vacant seat should be advertised, as it was when she was appointed in June 2003 following Carrie Fenton’s resignation for personal reasons.
However, village election charter does not mandate advertising for an empty council seat. It states that any vacancy of an elected office shall be filled by appointment, by the council, and the appointee shall hold office until the next annual election.
‘We have had to recruit, at times,? said Village President Sue Bess. ‘But we have a history of choosing off the ballot of candidates that were not elected,? she explained to Roemer. Bess continued to explain that there have been three contested elections for the village in which a candidate, who like Flath, lost by one vote.
Each of the those three candidates were ultimately appointed by the council, when the next council seat became vacant.
Council President Pro-Tem, Kay Green stated however, that because she only learned of Mr. Hayden’s intent that night, she would like to consider the two viable candidates.
In order to be considered for the appointment Hayden is required to submit a letter of intent.
Hayden did inform council that night, that he was interested in filling the empty spot because he had previously served on the council, but resigned due to lack of time. Hayden says he now has the time to serve and feels he has a lot to offer, and is willing to go into community service again.
Hayden did not, however, present council with a the required letter of intent. Council told him he needed to comply with that rule in order to be considered for appointment. As of press time Hayden had still had not submitted the required letter.
Flath ran for the village election as well as submitted a letter, to Zelenak on March 22, to be considered for the appointment.
‘I can’t understand why they delayed making a decission that night since there were no made requests other than a recommendation by a council member to consider someone who didn’t put their name on the ballot, or submit a request ,? said Flath.
In an interview with the editor Hayden said he did not originally run in the election because he was working on his degree and was too busy, however, will complete his degree in May and then have time.
In addition, he was satisfied with who was on the council at the time, but changed his mind to serve after Gina Joy Roemer asked him to apply.