Election to be Held for Vacant Council Seat

Faced with a vacant seat due to Joe Mosca's recent resignation, the moved Tuesday to open the seat up to candidates for the upcoming April election. The Council also had the option of appointing a new member.

"I've listened to a lot of people over the past few weeks and my thoughts are that we do live in a representative democracy," said Councilmember Josh Moran. "The person who takes the seat that has been vacated should represent the city in its entirety."

The other councilmembers and Mayor John Buchanan concurred.

Mayor Buchanan said that he went back and forth over the decision because having only four Councilmembers doesn't do much to break a tie, and is better for a quorum.

But Councilmember MaryAnn MacGillivray seemed to sum it up when she said, "We've only got another six or seven meetings until [the April election.] We'll survive."

The decision was lauded by residents who came to speak up at the meeting.

This brings a total of three Council seats up for election in April: two regular four-year seats and Mosca's former seat, which will only last for two years. 

It was decided that candidates will have to chose which term they are running for: four years or two years.

Resident Sandra Saraganian brought up another point. "I think we need to formalize something that talks about how to fill a Council vacancy. It seems up in the air and very ambiguous," she said.

Councilmember MacGillivray agreed that the process should be formalized. The City Council will likely discuss this in upcoming meetings, and voters could see a measure addressing Council terms and vacancies on their April ballot.

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