The Oneonta Common Council has not filled the Seventh Ward vacancy since former council member Bryce Wooden resigned at the beginning of September.
The council voted down Mayor Mark Drnek’s nominee Ed Overbey Sept. 17. Since then, Seventh Ward resident Carolyn Marks has made the case for her candidacy.
She pitched her experience and qualifications again to the council Tuesday, Oct. 1, presenting the signatures of 137 registered voters endorsing her nomination during the time for public petitioners.
“I am presenting this letter of my qualifications,” Marks said. “I have been endorsed by Bryce Wooden as his replacement.”
Drnek was not present. Scott Harrington, R-Sixth Ward, conducted the meeting as deputy mayor.
Marks read her letter, which stated her enthusiasm for “the opportunity to represent the voices and concerns of the residents” of Oneonta and improve the quality of life in the city.
Marks’ main concerns include housing, economic growth, expanding the tax base to support public services such as safety, infrastructure and housing, according to her letter.
“With a background in public education and service, I am confident in my ability to collaborate with the current council on matters vital to our community,” Marks said.
Marks obtained the 137 signatures throughout the week of Sept. 23, including the endorsement of Wooden, who recently moved out of the district.
About seven people attended in support of Marks, but did not speak. The group left after Marks’ comments. Marks remained at the meeting.
Changing the process for filling vacancies on the council is still under consideration. During the council’s Legislative Committee meeting Sept. 23, the council discussed the process and agreed that it needed to be revamped, which may take some time.
The committee took up the discussion based on the 4-3 vote against filling the Seventh Ward vacant seat with Drnek’s nominee.
“We need to describe what the mayor is going to do, what the process and procedure should be for filling a vacant seat,” Len Carson, R-Fifth Ward, said in the committee meeting Sept 23. “We have to think why would this one person, the mayor, have the ability to select the council member for the vacant seat.”
Shannon McHugh, D-Third Ward, said Sept 23 that she spoke to younger people considering running for office and they considered the money and time it takes.
“We also have to consider the length of the term,” she said, “if it’s for six months or a year, which makes a difference and commitment for the person filling the seat.”
At the committee meeting, further discussion centered around how to outline the criteria for a council person and what the step-by-step procedure should look like for filling vacant seats in the future.
“We have to have a backstory for the process that we’re using,” Kaytee Lipari Shue, D-Fourth Ward, said Sept 23. “We all have different ways of thinking the criteria should be and how we inform the steps. Each board has their own stuff.”
Carson said that if the seat is going to be vacant for 10-12 months, the city should hold a special election.
The committee members agreed that there should be three council members and the exiting council member involved in the process of selecting a replacement for a vacant seat.
Shue said that after all of the steps are taken, the nominee criteria, guidelines for selection, that the final nomination should be the mayor.
Carson said that he would work on putting some things together for the next legislative committee meeting.