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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 />