The Monrovia City Council decided tonight to go ahead with a municipal election even though there are only two candidates for two open city council seats. Why? Because while the regular filing period is over people can still run as write-in candidates, but if you want to do that you gotta file with the city clerk promptly. If you don't, any write-ins for you won't be counted.
But if the council wanted to hold the election, couldn't the filing period just be extended? Nope. The city attorney said it was already extended and can't be further extended.
The council also decided to delay appointing a replacement council member until its first meeting in March, so the council will be down to four members until that time.
Councilwoman Becky Shevlin added that despite suspicions, the appointment of fill-in Councilman Larry Spicer was her idea, not Shaw's, and she believes Spicer, who is running for office for himself now, is more hurt by events than a beneficiary.
And a bit of tension. At the beginning of the meeting Mayor Mary Ann Lutz criticized Councilman Tom Adams, who had criticized former Councilman Clarence Shaw for how he resigned his seat at the last moment. Lutz said Adams did the same thing before, changing his mind at the last minute after saying he would not run, so "he has no credibility on this matter." Adams did not respond.
- Brad Haugaard
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