An ad hoc movement is forming in support West Wendover Council candidate Casie Snyder to take up the council seat of Mayor-elect Emily Carter.
Snyder came in third in last weeks election besting incumbent councilman Johnny Gorum by just four votes after all the ballots were counted.
While normally Snyder’s third place finish in the race for two council seats would just be for bragging rights, the fact that Carter will leave her chair to take up the mayor’s gavel leaves an opening.
In Wendover it is the mayor who nominates a candidate for a vacancy and the council who votes.
If both Snyder and Gorum apply for the vacancy Carter would be faced with a dilemma. Traditionally the mayor nominated the next highest vote getter in the previous election in this case that would be Snyder. However the Wendover ambulance owner has made no secret of his opposition to past council policies that Carter played a major role and his specific disagreement with the proposed bailout of the Wendover Gas Company which Carter championed.
“The voters have clearly stated they want a fresh start for the city, electing a new mayor and two new city councilmen. With the Mayor-elect Carter’s council seat vacating, this will be an excellent opportunity for the mayor and our city council members to demonstrate their integrity and ethics by appointing the seat according to the voice of the electorate.” Snyder said. ”This would seem especially true in a nonpartisan race, such as this. Following the will of the people, and not succumbing to the temptation to appoint a yes man; this will be a true test of their character.”
The appoint Snyder movement is said to be gaining ground among some members of the city council and the public at large.
A petition is reportedly circulating in the city and a letter writing campaign is also underway.
“I have heard some very supportive things from the community,” Snyder added. “Hopefully it will grow and sway the mayor.”
While it is tradition to appoint the next highest vote getter, Carter is under no obligation to do so. And she could also cite the very slim four vote margin as a major reason why she would appoint Gorum.
If she does appoints Gorum it could indicate the Wendover Gas bailout issue will once again make it on the agenda. The bailout was derailed by outgoing Mayor Donnie Anderson four weeks ago when Anderson along with councilman Izzy Gutierrez, his only political ally on the council called over a half a dozen local and regional propane suppliers to determine if private enterprise could come to the rescue rather than the publicly funded city takeover.
After Anderson and Gutierrez presented their findings to the council the item was tabled but not before harsh words were exchanged between Anderson Wendover Gas Company owner Nancy Green and councilmen Johnny Gorum and Emily Carter.
However the council’s ratification of a Gorum appointment is not a sure thing. Of the four councilmen to be voting only Roy Briggs could be considered sure to go along with the appointment. Gutierrez would probably vote against as well as Rodriguez. It would be up to Andrade to either kill the nomination by either voting no or abstaining. If he votes aye the tie would be decided by the Mayor Carter.
Carter could play it safe and reappoint interim councilman Mike Miera to fill out her term. When he was appointed four months ago to fill out the term of Bryant Blake, Carter cast the deciding vote for him. Her vote opened speculation that a deal may have been in the works that should she win the mayor’s race, Miera had the inside track for her council seat. If there were any understandings, they were made before the election.
Carter’s council seat become vacant after next Tuesday’s meeting, then applications will be taken and a replacement will be appointed two weeks later.
According to some sources, Snyder supporters are planning to pack the meeting in hopes of swaying the new mayor to nominate their man.