Two have the inside track on filling council vacancy

ACHTUNG: This is not a “fair and balanced” article. It is an editorial by the editor.

Wayland City Manager Josh Eggleston’s insistence on an open and transparent process for filling a council vacancy is laudable, but probably impractical.

Eggleston, after the death of Gary Smith to create the opening, announced his firm recommendation that the remaining City Council members welcome all applications and interview all of those interested and qualified. That sounds terrific on the surface, but some realities make it very difficult.

The city has had a heckuva time attracting anybody to run for council. Smith himself was elected without opposition in November 2019. In the past six years the races for council seats have been yawners. Mayor Tim Bala has faced some opposition, but handily bested every challenge, and most council contests have been non-contests in recent years,

So problem number one is the lack of people with time or interest in serving.

Another problem is that there are two people waiting in the wings who have pretty solid credentials and are recognizable. Though neither yet has expressed interest in applying, I wouldn’t be surprised if they are the only two.

One is Tim Rose, who served on the City Council for eight years, and other than leading the charge to get rid of a city manager, he hasn’t done a bad job. He was the odd man out in the four-for-three race last Nov. 3.

The same is essentially true for former Councilwoman Tracy Bivins, who was forced to resign a couple of years ago for health reasons. She regained her chops enough to make an unsuccessful bid for mayor two months ago. But besides that and her NIMBY attitude on walking trails, she had done a decent job.

This makes it difficult for any newcomer to give it a try to run for council. To be sure, Norm Taylor won as a newcomer last November, but he was blessed with serious name recognition as retired Wayland School Superintendent.

Yes, an open and transparent process in appointing a new City Council member would be nice. But I would bet against it happening.