At Tuesday’s Creston City Council meeting, three applicants were presented to fill the Ward 3 vacancy. For each candidate, it was a 3-3 tie, three for and three against.
One council member refused to vote in favor of any candidate, saying it wasn’t his place as he isn’t a resident of the ward. He, and one other council member, preferred to leave the decision up to a special election.
Here’s the thing — if we, as citizens, want a special election, we can call for one. We did that with the mayoral election. Even though just 743 ballots (10% of eligible voters) were cast, the people asked for, and received, a special election.
In the case of a Ward 3 vacancy, I think most of us believe in our elected officials to make the decision. We can’t hold a special election over every little thing. To our council: we need you to buck up, do your research and make a decision. Some will laud you for it, others will bemoan your choice. Such is public service.
The council voted four times, twice for Candidate A, once for Candidate B and once for Candidate C, and still couldn’t come to a consensus. Candidate B even made the choice to recuse herself after the third vote to simplify the process in the hopes the vacancy could be filled, but it was for naught.
At the end of the day, the special election will cost taxpayers money we didn’t ask to spend. There’s a process built in to the system where we can override your appointment. Let us make that decision while you do what we’ve elected you to do.
Creston residents, if you are dissatisfied with the lack of action from the council, reach out to your council members. Their contact info can be found here.