| New councilors sworn in Hildale City Council swears in two men | |
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By Patrice St. Germain patrices@thespectrum.com | |
HILDALE - After a 20-minute, closed-door executive session Tuesday morning, the Hildale City Council unanimously appointed Philip Barlow and Edson Holm to fill vacancies left by William E. Jessop and Dan Jessop who resigned from the council last month. Hildale Mayor David Zitting said the last time there was a vacancy on the council it took six months to fill, but this time six people expressed an interest, although two did not follow through with applications. Letters of interest were presented to the city by Jethro Barlow, Philip Barlow, Wilford Williams and Holm. Zitting said he asked each person to write some kind of statement that he would read to the council. Afterward, each would address the council before it went into executive session. "Because we are considering very important positions and specific people to fill these positions, I am recommending that after we go through the presentations, the city council go into a closed executive session so they can feel free to discuss among themselves these individual situations," Zitting said. Following the session, Zitting said all of the candidates were capable and that the city council knew three of them very well. "They looked beyond those things and looked at their personal acquaintance and personal understanding of the situations of these people involved and looked at the citizens that they represent and they serve," Zitting said. "They look at what this community has been in the past and the very purpose for what this community was established for and what the meaning of this community has been in the past and that's important to them and it's important to them to maintain that under very, very diverse circumstances." Zitting then said it was his understanding that the vacancy left by William Jessop would be filled by Barlow and the vacancy left by Dan Jessop would be filled by Holm. Because the two are filling unexpired terms, both will be on the next municipal election ballot. Because of the term rotation, Holm will also be on the ballot two years following the next municipal election. Councilmen Joe Jessop and Harold Peine both said that if an election was held today, those were the two men who would be voted in by the residents. "I'm not here to serve myself and none of these brethren are here to serve themselves," Peine said. "We're here to serve the people we represent." Councilman LaMar Johnson made the motion to appoint the two to fill the vacancies. Although Dan Jessop had served on the city council since the town incorporated on Dec. 9, 1963, William Jessop, who was appointed in June 2004 to finish the unexpired term of Fred Jessop, had not been to a city council meeting in more than a year before his resignation. Following the meeting, Jethro Barlow said he was not surprised by the decision but was a little disappointed. | |
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TheSpectrum.com Originally published September 13, 2006 | |
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