Candidate Sekowski Given the Initial Boot for Appointed Position
Trevor Phipps
Even though the Woodland Park City election officially ended in April, tensions have escalated surrounding the question of who should sit on the city council for the next two years.
After a rather heated election, four candidates emerged as victors while one candidate missed a shot at becoming part of the new council due to receiving the least number of votes (Mary Sekowski with just over 870 votes).
Now, many residents want Sekowski to fill the seventh council seat.
Several residents made their pleas for Sekowski’s immediate council appointment during public comment at a recent meeting. However, the city council opted to stick to its guns and open up an application process, similar to a procedure used in the past.
The issue of a vacant seat developed as current Mayor George Jones (who served previously as a member of the city council) took his oath for office in April after running unopposed for mayor. Once Jones was sworn in as mayor, his seat on the city council opened up and became vacant. There is now a two-year term available on the council.
During their May 7 meeting, the council addressed the topic of filling the open seat. City ordinances give the council several options including: appointing whoever they want, opening up an application process and choosing the best candidate, calling for a special election or doing nothing and leaving the seat open until April 2028.
During their discussion, most of the council stated that they wished either to open up the application process to the public or consider leaving the seat open. Another option brought up was to delay the decision for a month or two.
In the end, the council directed staff to open up applications for the vacant city council position starting on June 1. Applicants will have just over a month to submit applications, with the deadline set for July 6. The council will then interview the contenders for the spot during their regularly scheduled meeting on July 16.
Mayor Pro Tem Catherine Nakai recommended that the council open up the application process like it has done in the past. Councilman Seth Bryant, though, thought maybe it would benefit the council to take their time and delay a decision.
“In the sense that we are not necessarily required to take any immediate action, the seat you vacated has been vacant for just about a month,” Bryant said. “And potentially if we were to go down the appointment road, leaving this matter kind of the table for a month or two might allow potential applicants to consider the role rather than making a decision so quickly after an election. We did fill four seats, which is the majority of the council.”
Councilman Jeffrey Geer said that he would rather fill the seat sooner than later since it has been open for nearly a year. “I think the public was extraordinarily clear in their vote as to the four people they wanted up here,” Geer said. “So, I think it would behoove us to go the application route and see if anyone wants to apply and then we can make a decision from there.”
Residents Oppose Application Process
After the council had their discussion and directed city staff to launch the application process next month, many spoke against the decision during public comment. But they didn’t succeed in getting the council to change its position.
Although their reasons varied, over half a dozen people told the city council they thought the council should decide to appoint Sekowski to the open seat. None of them liked the council’s idea to open up the application process to the public.
The overall theme of their comments was that the council should directly appoint Sekowski to the vacant seat since she did get over a third of the votes that were cast. “With Council member Jones moving into the role as mayor a vacancy was created,” resident Mike Perini said. “Voters understood that reality and in that context Mary (Sekowski) received approximately 900 votes, about 38 percent of those cast. Let’s be clear about what that means, if the voters had no interest in Mary serving on city councils those numbers would not exist.”
One resident even said that they would officially request that council members recuse themselves if they reached out to other applicants, instead of appointing Sekowski. Other Sekowski supporters said that her financial knowledge and real estate experience makes her qualified for the position. Moreover, some residents believe her specific skill set is something the council and city needs.
“It’s disappointing for me to sit here and listen to all of you say, ‘Oh, let’s open up for applications’ when that opportunity for applications happened in the regular election cycle,” resident Kathryn Perry said. “Everyone in town had the opportunity. I would strongly advocate that you guys look around and do not fear a seventh vote here. Because to open it up to applicants is opening it up to the ‘couldn’t be bothered’ in the real (election) cycle.”
Any Woodland Park resident who wants a chance to become a council member can turn in an application anytime between June 1 and July 6 for consideration. The council will then make a formal decision after they interview each candidate.
