The City Council will require two meetings to nominate and appoint a resident of Ward 3 to represent the ward on the council, replacing Peter J. Miller Jr., who resigned effective April 30.
Miller, who served more than eight years as the Ward 3 council representative, resigned to pursue a graduate degree in public administration and to spend more time with his family.
Council President Christopher Keefe slated a special meeting for Monday, May 14, to allow councilors to nominate residents for the post. The vote to appoint, which requires seven of the remaining 12 councilors, will be conducted during the Petitions, Remonstrances and Other Papers portion of the regular business at the council’s May 17 session.
“This will be a political decision at the end of the day,” Keefe said, advising members to work to get at least six other councilors to support a particular candidate.
“Monday, there will be no vote, but we will select a slate of candidates who we feel are qualified, then Thursday vote to elect the Ward 3 representative,” Keefe said.
Council members raised a number of concerns and issues about the process as defined by Keefe.
Ward 4 Councilor Mary O’Connell charged that the council is “veering away from the system we’ve used to fill vacancies on the School Committee and Municipal Light Board. The 12 of us have to nominate someone? Why can’t people submit their own nomination through the City Clerk?”
In past incidents, where there was a vacancy on the City Council, there was a person in the line of succession for appointment to fulfill a council term. In a contested council election, the person with the next highest number of ballots takes the post. However, Miller ran unopposed, so there is no ballot successor to take the seat.
“In the past this (appointing a successor process) was a slam dunk because we had a runner-up,” Keefe said.
At-large Councilor Brian Sullivan said “The rules are simple: we nominate, we vet the candidates, then we appoint.”
Ward 5 Councilor Richard E. Onofrey Jr., argued that in recent history three vacancies, two on the School Committee and one on the Municipal Light Board, were filled by joint meetings of the council and the board with the vacancy.
“Nobody was put on the slate to be voted unless they were nominated by a councilor or a member of the other board,” he said.
Ward 2 Councilor James E. Brown Jr., who represented the downtown area with Miller, suggested that the council hold a special meeting Thursday prior to the regular session so the successful candidate could participate at the regular meeting.
Keefe overruled that idea, stating that the appointment would occur during the regular council session, which is televised on local access cable television.
At Large Councilor David Flaherty had suggested that nominations be submitted prior to the council meetings to allow council members “time to get to know the candidates” before voting on the appointment.
“My concern is to give as many Ward 3 residents an opportunity to participate, to give them a voice,” Flaherty said.
At-large Councilor Brent B. Bean II said that the council members could nominate a candidate at any time from the floor during the regular meeting.
“I can nominate anyone on Thursday night, whether they’re vetted on Monday or not,” he said. “Someone gets nominated, then we vote.”
That initiated a heated discussion between Bean and Flaherty.
Keefe gaveled both councilors out-of-order, but Flaherty continued to voice his objections to Bean’s comment. Keefe banged his gavel a second time, then requested At-large Councilor James R. Adams to make a motion to adjourn, seconded by Bean. That motion was approved by a majority of council members.
