By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
When Alderman Tom Vos raised the question about just why the City of Burlington Common Council was discussing at-large seats, the answer came immediately.
“It’s coming from your left,” said Alderman Jon Schultz, sitting right next to him.
Schultz and the council debated the idea of district versus at-large council seats for about 40 minutes Tuesday night, before giving the nod to look further into an idea of a split between the two.
The council is currently comprised of two alderman from each of four districts. That setup is outlined in the ordinances, from when the council was first established 115 years ago, according to City Attorney John Bjelajac.
However, in the spring, the city could not find someone to run for the seat left open when Bob Prailes – alderman for the first district – chose not to seek re-election.
In the end, former Alderman John Ekes filed late papers to fill the seat. The fact that it came down to the last moment, which Schultz called “pathetic,” prompted him to bring up the idea.
“It’s not a good thing for what we call a democracy,” he pointed out, adding that a number of aldermen have been running uncontested as well. “It’s not good when there’s no competition.”
Schultz admitted that there could be some fear of candidates coming from one area of town – specifically, high-income subdivisions.
However, Schultz liked the suggestion made by Ekes – who left a comment with city staff because he was forced to miss the meeting. He said while he wasn’t “fond” of at-large seats, he thought bringing the question to the community would be a possibility, and also the idea of four at-large seats and then one seat from each district.
After comments were exchanged back and forth – and reaching the conclusion that a trial run might be a good idea – city staff and Bjelajac said they would look into it further, and wait for feedback from the community.
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