Four new members of the Taylor Town Council were sworn in June 1.
Shawn Palmer, Fay Hatch and Gary Solomon were elected in the March primary as they received more than 50 percent of the vote. Judge Fred Peterson administered the oath of office to these men.
The first item of business was to appoint a new council member to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Vice Mayor Jordy Fuentes.
Among those submitting letters of interest was Greg Cardita, who received approximately one-third of the votes in the primary election, just behind Robin Palmer, who did not submit a letter of interest. At the May town council meeting, Palmer recommended Cardita.
Also submitting letters of interest were Alan Ramage, Erin Amos and Barbara Bruce.
“I know everyone of us have taken an oath to do the best that we can possibly do for the town. We are fortunate because we have four really good people who have submitted letters of interest. I think the main consideration, logically, seems like it will be someone that can work with each of us,” said Councilman Mark Reed.
“In my mind it boiled down to is there somebody that is obviously most qualified, and could step into this seat and begin to function as soon as possible, because we have some serious work that needs to be done in the next month,” Reed continued, noting that there was one resume that stood out, the resume of Alan Ramage. “So I would like to nominate Mr. Alan Ramage to fill Jordy Fuentes’ spot.”
Councilwoman Jane Lee seconded the motion, which failed with a 3-3 vote with Reed, Lee and Councilman Jared Hatch voting in favor of the measure, and Councilmen Fay Hatch, Gary Solomon and Shawn Palmer voting in opposition.
Each of the applicants was asked to step forward, give their background and answer questions, which they did.
Roberts Rule of Order states that in order to reconsider a nomination there must be a motion from a person who voted nay. After discussion and agreement by the council members that any of those submitting letters of interest were well qualified, Palmer moved to reconsider Ramage, which was seconded by Reed. The council unanimously approved Ramage to take the place of Fuentes on the council. He was then sworn in by Judge Peterson.
The next order of business was to select a mayor.
“I know the office of mayor can be time consuming. It requires someone who has a little control of their time and who has the time. Right now I’m sure it’s not fair to him, but I would like to nominate Fay Hatch,” said Reed. The motion was seconded by Solomon.
“I don’t feel 100 percent about it,” said Hatch. “Shawn (Palmer) received more votes in the election than anyone has ever received and that’s where my feelings lean.”
When asked if he would accept the nomination, Hatch replied, “If he (Palmer) would not be able to do it, I will accept it.”
Palmer felt his schedule was such that he could not take on the office of mayor.
“I don’t like the idea, but I feel an obligation to do something and to represent the people that elected me here,” said Hatch. “That’s all I can do is represent those people, the citizens of Taylor and that’s what I would do with any decision that was made.”
Hatch was elected mayor in a 6-0 vote as he abstained.
“I appreciate your confidence in me. I feel like there’s any number of good choices out there for someone to fill this position. My only desire is to do what is best for this town and the citizens of this town. I know there are people out there that aren’t the happiest with my selection as mayor, and I hope those things that have gone on in the past can move behind us and move forward with what is best for the Town of Taylor. We need to be able to support each other. We need to be able to bend a little. Things like this don’t need to drag on. I will try to do my best. If I ever can’t do my best I’ll step aside and we’ll have another mayor up here,” said Hatch.
“One member of council that has been here longer than anyone on the past council, we hope to learn a lot from her and I believe that she would make a really good vice mayor is Jane Lee,” said Solomon as he nominated her as vice mayor. Palmer seconded the motion, which passed with a 6-1 vote as she abstained.
Newly elected members of the Taylor Town Council, including (left to right) Gary Solomon, Shawn Palmer and Fay Hatch, were sworn in on June 1 by Justice of the Peace Fred Peterson.
The Taylor Town Council elected Fay Hatch (left) as mayor June 1 and Jane Lee (right) as vice mayor.
The Taylor Town Council selected Alan Ramage (right) to fill the position on the council vacated by Jordy Fuentes. He was sworn in by Judge Fred Peterson at the June 1 council meeting.
