MINUTES 12-17-18 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Bullock spoke about Council's past practice of electing council leadership and expressed interest in further exploring how other legislative bodies do this. He stated that his proposal will give Council more time to deliberate as a body. He stated that prohibiting an appointed councilmember from running for election could be attractive to members of the community disinterested in campaigning. President O'Leary replied that the proposal about electing leadership does not offer increased flexibility but simply changes the date of the election. He also added that as it currently stands, an appointed council-person is welcome to not campaign for election at the end of the appointed term. He remarked that the Charter Review Commission just completed a comprehensive review of the Charter, as did Council. He suggested referral to Committee of the Whole. Mr. Bullock added that his proposal on council vacancies will level the playing field and not have a chilling effect. He argued that the Charter Commission's amendments to the Council portion of the Charter were light and that there remain worthy amendments to be made that were not considered by the Commission. Mr. Litten spoke of his personal experience applying to fill a council vacancy in 2010. He expressed his position that prohibiting an appointee from campaigning for election may eliminate good candidates from coming forward. Mr. Anderson objected to the suggestion that he and other councilmembers violated sunshine laws in the past when electing council leadership. He stated that the proposals are solutions in search of a problem. He described his experience being appointed. He questioned why Council would want to limit the freedom of the electorate to choose a candidate during an election. He expressed willingness to discuss these issues further. Ms. George expressed willingness to discuss this in committee. Mr. Bullock explained why he believes Rules & Ordinances is the most appropriate committee and President O'Leary explained why he believes Committee of the Whole is most appropriate. On the motion: All members voted in favor. Motion adopted. 32. ORDINANCE 74 -18 - AN ORDINANCE to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least five members of Council, or otherwise to take effect at the earliest period allowed by law, providing for the submission to the registered voters of the City of Lakewood a proposed amendment to the Third Amended Charter of the City of Lakewood. (pg.85) Motion by President O'Leary, seconded by Mr. Anderson to refer to Committee of the Whole.