The Shoreview City Council is diligently working on filling the vacant seat on the council left by newly elected Mayor Sue Denkinger.
Denkinger's council term expires on Dec. 31, 2024. She said it would be good to speed up the process because the council needs to set up new strategic goals for this year.
“We’d like to do it in the first quarter,” Denkinger said. “Part of the reason for the time frame is it would be great for whoever replaces me on the council can be a part of those goal-setting meetings.”
City Manager Brad Martens said that when less than two years remain in the unexpired term, there is no need for a special election to fill the vacancy; the City Council can fill the vacancy by appointment unless a specific ordinance exists requiring a special election. No such ordinance exists for the city of Shoreview. There are no rules in place requiring a certain process to take place to appoint a council member.
“This is not par for the course for this council or other councils,” Council Member John Doan said. “It's a unique opportunity to bring in another member of the City Council in an appointed fashion versus via an election. I think it is a decision that is very important in that I, and I would imagine my fellow council members and the mayor, do not take lightly.”
Council Member Cory Springhorn said the last time the council had a vacancy, when Council Member Terry Quigley passed away, the city received many qualified applications.
“It was kind of tough to narrow it down to the few that we interviewed,” Springhorn said. “I'm sure we will get high-quality applications again.”
Here is the timeline for the appointment of the City Council vacant seat:
• City Council reviews applications at its next workshop and selects individuals to be interviewed on Jan. 23.
• City Council interviews selected applicants on Feb. 6.
• City Council appoints an individual to fill the vacancy on Feb. 21. He/she will take the oath of office and join the City Council for the remaining term through December 2024.
“As Mayor Denkinger stated, we do want to move this along as quickly as possible, because if we want to get some goal-setting in the near future, the sooner the better to get those strategic goals moving forward,” Martens said.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.