Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify that a state law governing mayoral appointments is inapplicable in Shawnee. The city exempted itself from the state law in November 2016 via charter ordinance 45.
Disagreements continue among Shawnee city leaders about how to handle appointments to volunteer boards for the city in the final months of Mayor Michelle Distler’s term.
On Monday, the Shawnee City Council was presented with two appointments but voted to approve only one.
The majority voted to reject another applicant that would have filled a vacancy on the Shawnee Planning Commission created by the city council’s previous decision not to reappoint a long-time commissioner.
In this latest vote and discussion, some of the past tensions over mayoral appointments bubbled up again.
What happened Monday?
- Councilmembers Tony Gillette, Tammy Thomas, Mike Kemmling, Kurt Knappen and Jacklynn Walters voted against the proposed appointment of Paul Goode to the planning commission.
- Councilmembers Jill Chalfie, Angela Stiens and Eric Jenkins voted for Goode’s appointment.
- That means the appointment failed by a 5-3 vote.
- The city council did not discuss any specific disqualifications or reasons for rejecting Goode’s application.
- Immediately before the vote on Goode, the city council approved John Godfrey’s appointment to the Code Board of Appeals.
- Goode is Distler’s second attempted appointee to fill the planning commission vacancy. Her first choice withdrew his nomination last month after the city council declined to vote on him.
The bigger picture:
- Typically, appointments to Shawnee’s many volunteer boards and commissions are approved without much pushback and generally sail through the city council by unanimous consent.
- Recently, however, such decisions have become a point of contention between the city council and outgoing mayor, especially when it comes to the planning commission.
- The planning commission is the body that reviews development, planning and zoning issues before they come to the city council. In Shawnee, there’s been some strain between members of the commission and the city council in the past few years.
Council and mayor have clashed over appointments
- This back and forth started last month when members of the Shawnee City Council nearly unanimously voted to block the mayor’s power to appoint for the rest of her term. (For that vote, Stiens was absent and Chalfie voted against the measure.)
- Later, at least two city leaders acknowledged that the city council lacked the power to block all of Distler’s appointments with a single, blanket vote.
- It remains unclear if the city council can reject appointments without a clear finding that a proposed appointee is unqualified for the position.
- State statute suggests that the city council needs a resolution stating an individual’s lack of fitness for the placement or that they’re “unqualified.” However, the city of Shawnee exempted itself via charter ordinance from this law, so it’s inapplicable.
Mayor calls rejections “partisan” and “divisive”
On Monday, Mayor Distler expressed concern about the city council’s continued blockade of her appointments to the planning commission.
“There should be checks and balances and diversity of non-politically motivated individuals,” Distler said. “It is very essential to the institution of the city and to the very health of this community not to launch our city into a partisan, divisive, combative battle.”
Those words nodded directly at what Gillette said in July before he moved to suspend Distler’s appointment power.
“Where’s the balance and the accountability to the residents? How do they trust the actions of a planning commission if the only criteria we use is to appoint our friends?” Distler continued.
She later said she could choose to be “petty” and use her power to veto council actions.
“Thankfully, I’m not that person,” Distler said. “This is where we’re at now.”
The mayor also alluded to her past attempts behind the scenes to get councilmembers’ opinions about possible appointments beforehand.
She said those attempts were met with silence from most councilmembers. Kemmling, who is running to replace Distler as mayor this November, on Monday questioned whether that communication chain would have constituted a violation of Kansas Open Meeting Act rules about serial communication.
Shawnee councilmembers push back
Things turned tense at times during the discussion Monday.
“That’s the role everybody on this governing body has: advise and consent,” Gillette said, at times speaking over Distler.
Kemmling also disagreed with the mayor’s statements, questioning her assessment of the council’s actions.
“I don’t think it’s petty to want to appoint someone to one of these commissions that sees things the way you see things and wants to lead the city in the same direction you want to lead them,” Kemmling said, noting his belief that the city council had grounds to reject some volunteer board appointments in the recent past.
He did note that the city council’s past action attempting to hamper her appointment power happened quickly, which limited discussion at the time.
Additionally, Kemmling acknowledged that the city council doesn’t “have the right to just say you can’t make recommendations,” but stressed the city council’s power to reject her recommended appointments.
What happens next?
- Tuesday morning, when asked by the Post if she plans to keep trying to fill the planning commission vacancy, Distler answered: “Yes, I do.”
- She said Goode would like to be considered again and has plans to approach the citycouncil himself.
- That means the city council will likely be asked to consider his appointment again in the near future.
Keep reading: Shawnee council attempts to block mayor’s appointments for rest of term
