The Cape Girardeau City Council is one step closer to holding a special election to replace the outgoing Kathy Swan. At Monday night’s meeting, the council decided to hold a special meeting on January 17, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. to select the date for the special election. The election could be in April or August, depending on how many individuals file.
The April 2 election will elect Swan’s replacement if there are one or two candidates. If more than two candidate file for the seat, the April election will serve as a primary and the general election will be held in August.
Thus far, the only candidate for Swan’s Ward 6 seat is Wayne Bowen, the chair of Southeast Missouri State University’s history department.
“There are too many variables out there right now to make any decision,” councilmember Mark Lanzotti said.
Kathy Swan’s last day is January 8, and the deadline for candidate filing is January 15. Council has sixty days from the day of vacancy to appoint a temporary member to serve as a “placeholder” member before the special election.
During Monday’s night’s study session, assistant city manager of development services Kelly Green suggested the council dissolve the board of examiners.
According to the city’s website, the board of examiners determines if plumbers, mechanical installers, master drainlayers and electricians have the necessary qualifications to hold a license.
Green said the board’s key problem was finding enough qualified applicants to fill the eight member board. She said city staff could do the board of examiners’ work, and the board of appeals could hear from applicants that do not like staff decisions on licenses.
Board of examiners member Danny E. Stitz argued dissolving the board of examiners would “take the city back forty years” because staff might play favorites.
“We treat everybody alike,” Stitz said. “There’s no favoritism.”
Green argued city staff is obligated to follow the same ordinances as the board. “The requirements to get the licenses are pretty black and white,” Green said. “You have the qualifications or you don’t.”
The council chose to not act at Monday’s meeting because too many council members were absent. Kathy Swan, John Voss and Trent Summers were not in attendance.
