During a special meeting last week, the Mount Shasta City Council voted unanimously to hold a special election to fill the vacant seat left by Katrina Howard’s resignation.
Although costly, an election was seen as the wisest choice by the councilmembers, especially considering that none of them had been elected to their current terms.
Appointments have been the norm in Mount Shasta over the past decade, as little interest has been shown in elections for council seats. To save the expense of an unnecessary election, the City often opts to appoint when only one candidate is running for a position, said City Clerk Sandy Studer.
Each of the City’s four current councilors: Mayor Tim Stearns, Mayor Pro-Tem Michael Murray, and councilors Russ Porterfield and Sandra Spelliscy were appointed to their current term.
If the Council had chosen to appoint this time, that individual would have served the remainder of Howard’s term, which doesn’t expire until November of 2012.
“I really think we need to have an election,” Spelliscy stated during the meeting. “It would be healthy for the city and for democracy to go through [the election] process... and it would be very difficult for the four of us to choose a person to serve for almost an entire term.
“I think, frankly, if we’d had an election in the fall, we wouldn’t have been put in this position,” Spelliscy continued. “Elections [allow us] to find out what kind of person the candidates are... I am in support of allowing the citizens of the community to step forward to make this decision.”
Stearns agreed that an election was the best option. Although mindful of the expense, he said, “Elections do cost money, but that’s part of the cost of democracy.”
Stearns was originally elected in Nov. 1998. When that term expired, he was voted in once again in 2002. In 2006, he and Spelliscy were the only people to file nomination papers for two available seats, and they were appointed to their current terms, which will not expire until 2010.
Porterfield served on the Council between the years 1988 and 1996. In July of 2004, he was reappointed to replace Marge Apperson, who had resigned from her position. Four months later, he ran for the office and was elected to a full four year term.
He was then appointed to his current term in Nov. 2008 along with Murray and Howard.
Murray was initially appointed in Dec. 2007 to fill the vacancy left by Jessie Zapffe, who moved outside city limits. He and Porterfield both filed for re-election in 2008. Howard also filed for the November election when a third seat opened after Ed Valenzuela was elected to the board of supervisors.
At that time, Howard was a motel director in town and an active member of the Mount Shasta Chamber of Commerce.
Howard’s letter of resignation was received on Feb. 2, two weeks to the day following her Jan. 14 arrest which stemmed from a large undercover drug bust operation by the Siskiyou County-Wide Interagency Narcotics Task Force.
Howard pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of marijuana for sale with the special allegation of being armed with a firearm, maintaining a place where marajuana is processed and sold, and conspiracy to commit a crime during her arraignment on Jan. 16.
After a short and pointed discussion during last week’s meeting regarding the Council’s limited options, Spelliscy moved to fill Howard’s seat by special precinct election, which would take place on June 2, 2009. Up to $15,000 from the City’s general fund would be used to cover election costs.
The motion was passed unanimously following a second from Porterfield.
Any registered voter residing within the limits of Mount Shasta City is eligible to be nominated for the position, which will remain vacant until the election.
“Hopefully, we’ll get more than one person to submit papers,” Studer said.
If interested, nomination packets are available at Mount Shasta City Hall during regular business hours. The filing deadline is 5 p.m. on March 6. For further information, please contact the County Clerk’s office at 842-8084.
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During a special meeting last week, the Mount Shasta City Council voted unanimously to hold a special election to fill the vacant seat left by Katrina Howard’s resignation.
Although costly, an election was seen as the wisest choice by the councilmembers, especially considering that none of them had been elected to their current terms.
Appointments have been the norm in Mount Shasta over the past decade, as little interest has been shown in elections for council seats. To save the expense of an unnecessary election, the City often opts to appoint when only one candidate is running for a position, said City Clerk Sandy Studer.
Each of the City’s four current councilors: Mayor Tim Stearns, Mayor Pro-Tem Michael Murray, and councilors Russ Porterfield and Sandra Spelliscy were appointed to their current term.
If the Council had chosen to appoint this time, that individual would have served the remainder of Howard’s term, which doesn’t expire until November of 2012.
“I really think we need to have an election,” Spelliscy stated during the meeting. “It would be healthy for the city and for democracy to go through [the election] process... and it would be very difficult for the four of us to choose a person to serve for almost an entire term.
“I think, frankly, if we’d had an election in the fall, we wouldn’t have been put in this position,” Spelliscy continued. “Elections [allow us] to find out what kind of person the candidates are... I am in support of allowing the citizens of the community to step forward to make this decision.”
Stearns agreed that an election was the best option. Although mindful of the expense, he said, “Elections do cost money, but that’s part of the cost of democracy.”
Stearns was originally elected in Nov. 1998. When that term expired, he was voted in once again in 2002. In 2006, he and Spelliscy were the only people to file nomination papers for two available seats, and they were appointed to their current terms, which will not expire until 2010.
Porterfield served on the Council between the years 1988 and 1996. In July of 2004, he was reappointed to replace Marge Apperson, who had resigned from her position. Four months later, he ran for the office and was elected to a full four year term.
He was then appointed to his current term in Nov. 2008 along with Murray and Howard.
Murray was initially appointed in Dec. 2007 to fill the vacancy left by Jessie Zapffe, who moved outside city limits. He and Porterfield both filed for re-election in 2008. Howard also filed for the November election when a third seat opened after Ed Valenzuela was elected to the board of supervisors.
At that time, Howard was a motel director in town and an active member of the Mount Shasta Chamber of Commerce.
Howard’s letter of resignation was received on Feb. 2, two weeks to the day following her Jan. 14 arrest which stemmed from a large undercover drug bust operation by the Siskiyou County-Wide Interagency Narcotics Task Force.
Howard pleaded not guilty to charges of possession of marijuana for sale with the special allegation of being armed with a firearm, maintaining a place where marajuana is processed and sold, and conspiracy to commit a crime during her arraignment on Jan. 16.
After a short and pointed discussion during last week’s meeting regarding the Council’s limited options, Spelliscy moved to fill Howard’s seat by special precinct election, which would take place on June 2, 2009. Up to $15,000 from the City’s general fund would be used to cover election costs.
The motion was passed unanimously following a second from Porterfield.
Any registered voter residing within the limits of Mount Shasta City is eligible to be nominated for the position, which will remain vacant until the election.
“Hopefully, we’ll get more than one person to submit papers,” Studer said.
If interested, nomination packets are available at Mount Shasta City Hall during regular business hours. The filing deadline is 5 p.m. on March 6. For further information, please contact the County Clerk’s office at 842-8084.
