Back in the day, a few rich old white guys got together and decided to create this thing called “America.” After the final flourishes of the Constitution were hammered out, someone reportedly asked ol’ Benny Franklin what kind of guvmint had been created.
“A republic,” he supposedly replied, adding, “if you can keep it.”
A republic. A guvmint composed of folks elected by we the people to represent us. Elected by we the people. To represent us. Those in elected office are supposed to be placed there by the will of the people. Our choice of elected representatives, elected by us to, well, you get the picture.
That’s the base of our City Politics. A republic. If we can keep it.
If at first you don’t succeed, get appointed
How to account for the number of folks in elected office who got there not by being elected by we the people, but by being appointed by their friends and cronies already there? On one hand it’s unavoidable. Electeds move, resign, get elected to something else, or otherwise leave office. Vacancies pop up, and they have to be filled somehow.
That usually means an appointment. We’ve discussed these before in this here column. There were two such appointments to Toledo City Council just last year. Vacancies occurred, and the remaining members of Council voted to appoint someone to fill them. The appointees then had to face the populace in a subsequent election. Fair enough.
Sometimes the appointed choices are approved by the voters, sometimes they aren’t. This past year, one appointee, Scott Ramsey to represent District 4, finished third in the election and was removed from office. The other, At-Large rep Cecelia Adams, ran unopposed and was elected to keep the seat. Ramsey was a small business owner, Adams a then-member of the Toledo school board.
This is how a republic should function. Ramsey had never been offered for election before. He was appointed, then rejected by the voters. Adams had previously been elected to another office. She was appointed to a new position and approved. These folks were placed into elected office by appointment, then either approved or denied by we the people.
Here’s the seamy underbelly to appointments. Every now and then someone stands for election and loses. And then gets appointed by the incumbent office holders to the very same office they just lost. For example, new candidate Shaun Enright lost the twenty eleven election to Toledo City Council. When Phil Copeland was elected county recorder in twenty twelve, who did Council tap to replace him? You guessed it. Enright.
Even worse, there is the occasional rumbling that it should in fact be that way, that is, a candidate rejected by the voters should be appointed against their stated choice. When Jack Ford passed away early last year there was sentiment expressed that a candidate who finished out of the running in twenty thirteen should be appointed to take his seat. You read that right. Someone voters rejected would make a good choice anyway. Hilarious.
Hilarious D.
Such craziness brings us to the strange saga of the Spencer Township Trustees. In twenty fifteen the three seats were held by Michael Hood, Shawn Valentine, and the improbably named D. Hilarion Smith. Mr. Smith’s term ended last year, so he had to stand for election to keep the seat.
He lost. The good people of Spencer Township decided they preferred Teresa Bettinger instead. Hilarion out, Bettinger in. That’s how a republic works. End of story?
Nope. Seems Valentine is on deployment as a member of the military reserves and has been since September. At a special meeting called for the last day of the year, Hilarion’s last day in office, he and Hoodie declared Valentine’s seat vacant per state law. Never mind that same law prohibits such action if based on military deployment.
Since the seat was vacant, they reasoned, an appointment was in order. As the only two trustees in attendance, they held the majority, and made their choice. Who did Hoodie and Hilarion choose?
The obvious choice, friends. They filed the seat with Hilarion his own bad self. Who had just lost the election. And voted for himself to fill the seat. Which prolly isn’t really vacant at all. Ya can’t make this stuff up. As the saying goes, it’s, er, Hilarious because it’s true.
Hoodie is now a candidate for county commissioner. Bettinger has taken her seat as a trustee. Hilarion is squatting in Valentine’s seat. Is this a republic?
More like a reality show. A bad one. You can keep it.
