Public Safety Commission must re-do awkward election of chair, vice chair

The Public Safety Commission will have to re-live a particularly uncomfortable moment from their last meeting after the City Clerk’s Office discovered that their new chairperson and vice chairperson were wrongly elected.

Public Safety Director Kristin Cook emailed commissioners on Tuesday to tell them that when they tallied the votes, they mistakenly included two abstentions in the totals.

Tensions arose two weeks ago when outgoing Chairperson Amanda Laflen unexpectedly nominated Commissioner Tod Hallman as her replacement. The surprise move caused some friction, as Commissioner Tory Berger was higher in seniority. The motion to nominate Hallman was ultimately voted down, and Berger was elected chairperson.

But according to city bylaws, if two commissioners out of seven abstain in a vote, the new majority is three out of five (instead of four out of seven) — meaning Laflen’s nomination of Hallman should have passed. Also, procedure dictates that voting should follow a calling for all nominations — not a motion for one nomination, and a vote.

Cook recommended that the commission start fresh with an entirely new vote in their August meeting. City Clerk Melissa Crowder will be present to oversee the new election.

READ MORE: Public Safety Commissioner Balbone takes lead in standing up for process at awkward Public Safety election. Chair Laflen, a Lindsey Horvath appointee, uses her exit speech to attempt to thwart Vice-Chair Berger, a Meister appointee from becoming the next Chair.