Lexington City Council
looks to fill open seat
When the Lexington City Council convenes tonight, one seat will be empty. But by the close of the evening’s session – the first meeting of the year – that seat will likely be filled.
Ousted council incumbents Jack Page and Ron Smith and recent contender for mayor Mary Harvey are expected to be top choices for the open seat. The seat belonged to Councilwoman Mimi Elrod, who resigned her council post when she took office as mayor on Jan. 1.
The new faces on the council – Marylin Alexander, David Cox and Bob Lera -- will take part in the vote on the new member. Alexander, Cox and Lera defeated Page and Smith in council elections in November. A third council member decided not to run for reelection.
Elrod, who beat Harvey in the November mayoral election, will join council for the meeting. But the city’s mayor does not vote with the council on any matter unless there is a tie.
Incoming council members expressed some support for Harvey after the November election, but Elrod has not supported her selection. Council Member Frank Friedman appeared to refer obliquely to those earlier positions.
“I’m sure there’ll be earnest discussion and then a vote will take place,” Friedman said. Friedman said council must fill an open seat within 30 days. That means that the council has until Jan. 31 to appoint Elrod’s successor.
But Friedman believes the appointment will happen tonight by a motion from one of the five sitting council members.
Also on the council’s agenda is the appointment of the city’s vice mayor and the task of filling an empty position on the Lexington School Board that once belonged to Alexander. Friedman, who has also served on the city’s school board, hopes to find someone with experience in local government.
Friedman, financial adviser for the Bank of Rockbridge, believes economic expertise will be crucial for the council in coming months, especially with substantial budget cuts likely to affect schools and local services.
But because state open meetings laws restrict official communication between council members outside of the group’s meetings, Friedman isn’t certain whether his colleagues share his opinion.
New council member Bob Lera has his own ideas about the candidates for the open City Council seat.
“Showing interest is very important to me,” said Lera. “The only person who says she wants the job is Mary Harvey.”
Harvey, a piano instructor who teaches both privately and at Southern Virginia University, is also a member of the Lexington Planning Commission.
Harvey says she is not actively seeking the open council position, but she believes she is qualified and would gladly serve if appointed.
“I’ve never had this whole city council thing in the back of my mind,” Harvey said. “I think what people see from me is a desire.”
Harvey thinks council members will favor someone with city council experience. But she doesn’t think experience is that important to city residents.
“I think they want people with a different perspective,” she said.
Friedman and Lera said that Harvey, Page and Smith have made themselves most known to the public through their campaigns. When it became apparent that Elrod’s position would be vacated, the three were considered top contenders for the position.
Page is a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Military Institute, and Smith is director of facilities services at Kendal at Lexington.
Lera said he and the other new City Council members face an unusual situation going into tonight’s meeting. Rarely does the agenda require that new members take a stance immediately. He hopes that thoughtful and careful deliberation is given to the appointment.
Friedman is making no predictions.
“You never know what’s going to happen until it happens,” he said.
What qualities should the new council member have? Mary Harvey shares her opinion.
Produced by
Washington and Lee
journalism students.
Lead Supervisors:
Prof. Brian
Richardson
Prof. Indira Somani
Editing supervisor:
Prof. Lisa Tracy
Technical supervisor: Michael Todd