Council will make appointment at June 4 meeting
By Barb Pert Templeton
After the resignation of Algonac City Councilman Corey Blair on April 25, according to the city charter, officials had just 30 days to appoint his replacement.
Wasting no time, the council accepted Blair’s resignation at a meeting on May 7 and gave interested parties until 4 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28 to apply for the seat.
When the deadline arrived five residents had applied for the position. They are Polly Barbour, Joanne Dare, Deborah Jo Green, Terry Stoneburner, and Dale Williams.
The city council is expected to appoint one of the candidates to fill Blair’s seat at their regular meeting on Tuesday, June 4 at 6 p.m.
Among the five applicants only one, Terry Isaacs Stoneburner, had already filed petitions to run for a seat in the upcoming primary election in August.
The Algonac City Council has four seats with four-year terms expiring. Council members Michael Bembas, Cathy Harris and Mayor Pro Tem Ray Martin are seeking reelection while Blair chose not to run again. The incumbents are being challenged by Glen Carter, Bernie Ferris, Christina Halkias-Robb, Wendy Meldrum, Anne Marie Ponessa, Jacob Skarbek and Terry Isaacs Stoneburner.
The Algonac City Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays of the month at 6 p.m.
In August voters will be selecting eight candidates, seeking four-year terms, from a field of ten and then the November General Election will see the list of eight narrowed down to four to fill the seats at the council table.
Stoneburner, who was first appointed to fill a vacancy on the council in 2017, was elected in 2018 and appointed to the mayor’s seat, a spot she held until 2022 when she ran again but was defeated at the polls. Skarbek didn’t run in 2022 but instead made an unsuccessful big for the Michigan House of Representative for District 63.
Algonac City Council members are elected to four-year terms on a rotating basis in even-numbered years. After the election the council hosts an organizational meeting where they elect the mayor, mayor pro tem and adopt their organizational rules and the ethics policies for the term.
As for the remaining members of the city council Mayor Rocky Gillis, and council members Ed Carter and Dawn Davey, their terms will expire in November 2026.
Blair resigned his seat on the council after more than a half dozen years serving the city.
In his letter sent to officialsors, Blair stated that “unfortunately due to my work schedule I will be unable to fulfill the rest of my term and commitment on the council. I hate to not be able to fulfill my commitment but it just cannot be changed at this time and my family and career come first.”
“If I’m unable to fulfill my commitment properly, the right thing to do is resign to allow the council to appoint someone to the position,” Blair added.
The Algonac City Charter, section 5.3, states then when a vacancy occurs in an elective office, the remaining members of the council shall, within 30 days thereafter, fill the vacancy for the balance of the unexpired term thereof; provided, that if the vacancy occurs on the council within 60 days prior to a regular city election, it shall not be filled until after the next organization of the council.
In this case, because the vacancy is more than 60 days from the next regular city election, it shall be filled by appointment for the unexpired term within 30 days.
