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City Council Minutes Page 3 <br /> February 11,2013 <br /> 6.2. Selection of Ward 1 Councilmember to Fill Vacant Seat <br /> Mr. Portner presented his staff report. <br /> Mayor Dietz asked the Council for any comments or feedback regarding the appointment <br /> process. <br /> Councilmember Westgaard stated that he is not sure of the relevance of the question <br /> regarding whether or not the applicants will seek re-election in 2014. He explained that the <br /> question seems to be commanding more attention than the other questions.Mayor Dietz <br /> stated that question was discussed at a previous Council meeting and the concern was that <br /> the person appointed may have an advantage as incumbent if they seek re-election in 2014. <br /> He added that he doesn't believe it is a fair question as the Council has no right to stop a <br /> person from running and the citizens can vote for whoever they wish. <br /> Councilmember Motin stated that he would have preferred more than two days between the <br /> citizen forum and the appointment date to give residents unable to attend the forum more <br /> time to watch the event and comment. <br /> The Councilmembers stated their following preferences: <br /> Councilmember Westgaard stated that he supports Stewart Wilson for appointment to the <br /> Ward 1 Councilmember seat. He explained that Mr.Wilson is familiar with the city and its <br /> processes and plans,heavily involved in the community,and will be able to get up to speed <br /> quickly and represent the citizens of Ward 1 properly. He added that he would like to <br /> discount the question regarding whether or not the appointee will run again in 2014 as that is <br /> a personal decision to be made by the person appointed. <br /> Councilmember Burandt stated that there are three good candidates to choose from but her <br /> preferred candidate is Stewart Wilson. She explained that she believes Mr.Wilson has more <br /> experience and can hit the ground running. She stated that she believes the other two <br /> candidates have valuable talents and she encouraged them to run in the future. <br /> Councilmember Motin stated that his preference is also Stewart Wilson. He explained that <br /> the learning curve with this position is huge and he believes it would be difficult to put <br /> someone in the position with less background than Stewart. He indicated that he believes the <br /> other two candidates showed lack of knowledge with what is going on in the city and that <br /> two years is not enough time to catch someone up on everything. He added that the other <br /> two were good candidates and he encouraged them to get up to speed on the city before <br /> running again.He added that it should be left up to the appointee as to whether or not <br /> he/she decides to seek election in 2014. <br /> Mayor Dietz indicated that his preference is also Stewart Wilson. He explained that it is <br /> important that the person appointed can hit the ground running because the city cannot <br /> afford a 6-9 month learning curve for a 23-month term. He encouraged Mr.Freitag to serve <br /> on a city board or commission prior to running for Council again.He stated that Ms. Olsen <br /> is very qualified and has government experience,but limited experience with Elk River <br /> government. He stated that Mr.Wilson is the most qualified applicant for this position at <br /> this time. He added that he received five calls from residents asking him to vote for Stewart. <br /> He encouraged all candidates to run for election in 2014. <br />