Time for a change of luck
Like Al Capp’s cartoon character Joe Btfsplk, the man with the
worst luck in the world, some people just cannot seem to catch a
break. And neither can some municipalities, apparently.
Time for a change of luck
Like Al Capp’s cartoon character Joe Btfsplk, the man with the worst luck in the world, some people just cannot seem to catch a break. And neither can some municipalities, apparently.
The San Juan City Council met last Tuesday to swear in a new council. One erstwhile member who was elected Nov. 7 declined the office Tuesday. Jeff Bagley, who works for the city of San Juan, was informed that he could either work for the city or sit on the city council. Bagley opted to keep his paycheck and his career.
That leaves San Juan short a council member for the second time in recent weeks. It seems like only yesterday that Mayor Dan Reed died. The council responded by soliciting applications. Ironically, none of the unsuccessful candidates in the November election applied. But a longtime San Juan resident with experience as a planning commissioner did, and the council quickly appointed Rick Edge.
The council has a chance to do the simple, logical thing and to offer the council job that was Bagley’s to either the runner-up applicant for Reed’s job or to the next-highest vote getter from the November race.
City Manager Jan McClintock explained after the meeting that she’s not familiar with cities appointing unsuccessful candidates for election, although it may have been done. The council already has decided to review the applicants for Reed’s job and pick from that list at a special meeting that will already have taken place when you read this.
Kudos to McClintock and the rest of the people around city hall for moving authoritatively.
One more question nags: why did Bagley not know he would have to make a choice? The answer was that he did. He was informed that he could not hold both jobs when he pulled candidacy papers. But he could not make up his mind until Tuesday, when he was asked to raise his right hand and solemnly swear.
We can only hope that this most recent appointment brings stability to the council and an era of cooperation and progress. With long-term financial problems that leave the city chronically strapped, a public works renovation project that’s been pockmarked with intrigue and a past history of contentious meetings, it’s past time the city had a change of luck.
