On Monday, December 11, the Greenbelt City Council addressed the issue of filling the vacancy on the council caused by the recent death of Councilmember Ric Gordon. The Greenbelt City Charter, in section 32 under Elections, defines this process: “If a seat on the council becomes vacant, the remaining members of council by a majority vote shall, as soon as possible, elect a person to fill the unexpired term. If three or more council seats are vacant at the same time, the board of elections shall call at the earliest date a special election to fill said vacancies for the unexpired terms.”
Mayor Emmett Jordan interpreted this language as clear in stating that the present city council has the authority and responsibility to act as soon as possible in appointing a candidate to fill the vacancy. Jordan pointed to the charter’s guideline in section 31 that states, “The candidates receiving votes amounting to forty (40) percent or more of the number of voters voting at the election, shall be declared elected,” pointing out that eight candidates in the November city election had received 40 percent or more of the vote for the seven seats on city council. Therefore, one option would be for the present six members to appoint that eighth candidate to fill the vacancy. Jordan reiterated that, with a lot of work ahead in 2024 on, for example, the city budget, council must act promptly.
Councilmember Kristen Weaver offered results from her search through Greenbelt News Review archives on past actions by council when faced with a vacancy. She found 17 instances when the council had filled a vacancy and much variation in the actions taken. The unique factor this time, Weaver added, was that the vacancy had occurred so soon after the election. One common feature was that there was usually a public hearing before council chose a replacement. In the past the process took between one week to 63 days to complete.
Jordan asked Steven Gilbert, chair of Greenbelt’s Board of Elections, about holding a special election to fill the vacancy, with ballots mailed to all residents in early February 2024 and returned by the end of that month. Gilbert estimated that the total cost of this election would range from $50-60K, not counting the time required by city staff and volunteers. All of this could take four to five months to complete, another reason Jordan spoke against the option, saying council should instead act promptly to fill the vacancy.
Councilmember Rodney Roberts advocated for holding what he called a non-binding advisory city election that council then would use to select a new member. He argued that the charter is wide open on this subject. Jordan disagreed, emphasizing the “as soon as possible” stipulated in the charter.
Councilmember Silke Pope agreed with Jordan that council’s task was to fill the vacancy as soon as possible. She advocated selecting the eighth candidate from the recent election who had received over 40 percent of the vote for the now-vacant seventh seat. Roberts responded that there is no rule requiring council to choose this candidate. Roberts also pointed out that if Greenbelt can afford to spend, as it soon will, $125,000 on a drinking fountain for dogs, it can afford to fund a special election for the sake of democracy.
Councilmember Jenni Pompi noted that in 2018-19 Berwyn Heights twice replaced members on its council by asking for applications and then interviewing prospective candidates before making its decision. Jordan returned to the option of choosing the eighth candidate in Greenbelt’s recent election, then asked those attending among the public to respond.
Dawn Warner, noting that Ric Gordon had died only 19 days after the election, asked if not the eighth candidate, then who, what? Leon Schachter maintained instead that the best qualified candidate should be chosen, that the process should be open to candidates other than the person who came in eighth. Jane Young stated that she had voted before and didn’t want to vote again, especially since the eighth candidate was still available to fill the vacancy. John Lippert added that this eighth candidate had jumped through all of the hoops to run, so council should stick with this individual. Carla Gordon, widow of Ric Gordon, spoke in support of council choosing this eighth candidate to fill the vacancy.
City Attorney Jason DeLoach then entered the discussion, stating flatly that the city charter did not grant council the authority to hold a special election. In response to Pompi’s question about calling for applicants, DeLoach answered that Greenbelt can have a truncated application process. What might as soon as possible mean? DeLoach suggested a timeline of 45 but not 90 days would fulfill the requirement. Roberts stuck with the idea of Greenbelt holding an advisory election to give citizens a say in this process, stating that once the winners had been sworn in, an election was over. An online participant disputed that the public had spoken for their preference through the last election, since they hadn’t voted for eight candidates and to take the eighth would be “disenfranchisement.” Michael Miller spoke from the audience calling for the council to “embrace the middle road,” to accept applications in a process that would last perhaps 30 days and involve public hearings with council ultimately making the decision.
Motion for an Advisory Election
Roberts’ proposal to hold a non-binding advisory election to fill the vacancy was voted on and failed, with only Roberts voting in favor and all others against.
Motion to Appoint Eighth Vote-Getter from Recent Election
Pope then made the motion that council appoint the eighth candidate from the most recent election. Pope’s motion was seconded by Jordan.
“We just had an election four weeks ago … The 40 percent are there, he came in eighth, it doesn’t matter whose name is there, it’s about the process … As Mrs. Gordon said, if it would have been a different name then we wouldn’t have all this discussion … If you come eighth, this was the next person in line,” said Pope, who suggested the charter should be amended to reflect this. Jordan also spoke in favor of this being the process within three months of an election.
Resident Trent Lierman spoke against selecting someone from the last election. He asked the council to think about what standard they’ll use to pick the next candidate and who is the most qualified. He also noted that while Matthew Inzeo got the eighth highest number of votes, it was the second election he’d run in in which he failed to get the votes needed to get elected. Lierman asked council for an apolitical process. Pope responded saying they couldn’t ignore over 1,000 votes for the eighth person, who is the most logical person to appoint. Speaking online, Bob Rudd echoed Pope’s sentiments and asked council to “seat Matthew Inzeo now.” Ed Fallon sent comments, read by Jordan, that only 7 percent of those registered voted for the eighth candidate. Jordan read a comment referencing Inzeo’s past but stopped, saying, “I shouldn’t have read that,” and insisting he wanted to consider the process rather than the person.
Weaver said it seemed to her less democratic to go with a public forum in which fewer people might participate than did in the recent election. She was particularly concerned about unequal participation by different parts of the city.
The vote to appoint the eighth highest vote-getter from the recent election failed 3-3 with Pope, Jordan and Weaver voting in favor and McKinney, Pompi and Roberts voting no.
Application Process
Jordan then suggested a nomination period of just one week for nominees. He suggested a question-answer session between councilmembers and candidates with the same set of questions for all. He said the public could weigh in with comments afterward but not directly address the candidates. Councilmember Danielle McKinney agreed that it should move forward as quickly as possible and ensure that voices across the community are heard, not only those that regularly speak in elections. Weaver agreed and suggested a hearing in Franklin Park and Schrom Hills Park. “Going this route we need to make sure we hear from the widest cross-section of people possible,” she said. She noted council didn’t have another regular meeting until January 8 so they did not need to rush the process to meet the end of the year.
Roberts argued that one week was insufficient for new candidates to submit all the necessary paperwork. “This is not a horse race,” he said, “and as soon as possible does not mean in one week.” Weaver clarified that she felt one week was enough time for people to put their résumé forward but was more concerned that more time would be needed to get feedback from the public about those candidates.
DeLoach responded that residents can comment by letter or email and council can consider them on the same day that it holds a special meeting. The idea was that council choose a replacement at its next open meeting, on January 8. Roberts stressed that this process should not be rushed, to which Jordan responded that the budget process requires time to learn, so speed is important. One challenge will be getting information out effectively on what is required of candidates, and when. Weaver recommended more time to make this fair for candidates who are not well known.
Jordan moved that nominations be opened on December 14 and closed on the 20th. The same guidelines as used before in elections will be followed, requiring for example a petition with 50 signatures by supporters indicating widespread support in Greenbelt and a completed financial disclosure form. City Manager Josué Salmerón recommended later that candidates also submit a statement of intent that includes biographical information and explains why this person wishes to be chosen. After December 20, candidates will have an opportunity to speak and the public a chance to weigh in. After more bickering among councilmembers over details, the motion that council provide an application and interview process to fill its vacant seat passed. Applications will be due by December 20 and discussions begun on December 21. Council will make its decision on January 3 and will swear in its new member on January 8.