The City Commission on Tuesday failed to compromise and resolve an ongoing deadlock preventing an appointment to the Commission’s vacant First Ward seat.
Former Commissioner Drew Robbins left his First Ward seat earlier this year in favor of a campaign to join the state House. Because the remainder of his term was for less than one year, the City Commission is allowed to appoint his replacement, rather than putting it to a special election.
That replacement process stalled last month, however, as fiery infighting prevented the commission from selecting a replacement from a pool of three finalists. The commission adjourned that meeting after several motions to appoint a commissioner failed in a split 3-3 vote.
During a Tuesday meeting to hear budget presentations, the commission reserved a section to discuss the vacancy, during which a compromise could not be reached.
Commissioners Lisa Knight, Milinda Ysasi, and Kelsey Perdue remained supportive of Kurt Reppart, a former commissioner, as they had during the previous meeting. Mayor David LaGrand and Commissioners AliciaMarie Belchak and Marshall Kilgore also held fast to their support for Grand Valley State University professor Dan Cope, which also remained unchanged from the prior meeting.
The stalemate led the commission to ask for guidance from City Attorney Philip Strom, who explained that five votes are required to reconsider a motion to appoint a candidate. Because of this, the commission could not bring a motion without two commissioners breaking ranks.
While the commission floated the idea of adding an agenda item regarding the vacancy to a future meeting, Strom said he would first need to consult with City Manager Mark Washington. Mayor LaGrand then pushed to adjourn given that there was no productive discussion.
“I would hope that the voters would want us to think through the process and not simply be precommitted before we moved into the process,” Mayor LaGrand said during the meeting. “I think it would be ideal and optimal if we could fill this seat, and maybe others don’t think so, but I’d rather hear from them. I don’t think it’s optimal that we don’t fill this seat.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, Commissioner Knight told The Herald she believed Commissioner Belchak to be partially responsible for stalling the process. Last month’s appointment meeting recessed briefly after Commissioner Belchak became visibly emotional and abstained from voting.
“This did not work out the way that it should have,” Commissioner Knight said of the appointment process. “I think [Belchak] was getting some outside pressure from other groups to not point towards Kurt [Reppart]. I can’t say that solidly, that’s just what I’ve heard.”
Commissioner Belchak told The Herald after Tuesday’s meeting, however, she believes the issue is representative of larger dysfunction within the City Commission due to increased involvement by the group’s newer members.
“We have been put in a place that is incredibly difficult and is revealing the inner dynamics of a board that isn’t quite aligned,” she said. “I really have witnessed from the beginning that there is an old guard vs. the new guard dynamic.”
“I think that there have been hard feelings before myself, the mayor, and Marshall [Kilgore] came on board,” she added.
Write to jackson@grherald.com.