Harrison Council, GOP At Odds Over Appointment

There is disagreement about who gets to choose a person to fill an upcoming vacancy on Harrison City Council.

Harrison City Council. City of Harrison photo. 

(Harrison, Oh.) - There is some controversy over who has the authority to fill a vacancy on Harrison City Council.

Republican councilman Urbano Galindo is planning to resign this month as he is moving out of the city.

The Harrison Republican Central Committee has met and appointed Jean Wilson as Galindo’s replacement to complete his term on council.

But the City of Harrison’s law director is saying not so fast. William Deters II has advised Harrison City Council and Mayor Bill Neyer that the central committee does not have the authority to make the appointment. Rather, it is city council or the mayor who get to make the appointment.

In a September 20 letter to residents, Deters says that is because the Republican party did not officially endorse Galindo during the 2017 election he won. He cited section 3.10 of the city charter: “If a Council member being replaced was not endorsed by any political party, then the vacancy in Council shall be filled by a majority vote of the remaining members of Council.”

“The appointment of Ms. Wilson by the Central Committee is in violation of the Charter and will not be recognized by the City of Harrison,” wrote Deters.

The law director noted that the decision is not in any way a judgment of Wilson’s abilities of capabilities to serve on council.

“This is merely a legal issue concerning the authority to make the appointment,” Deters stated.

Deters believes the authority to make the appointment rests with the remaining members of city council, who he indicated will make a decision in the near future.

If council does not make an appointment within 30 days, the responsibility then falls to Mayor Neyer.

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