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By Tom Travis
Council member Ali Herkenroeder (District 7) was elected Monday in a 6-3 vote as president of the Flint City Council, with Council member Ladell Lewis (District 2) serving as vice president. Councilors Eric Mays (District 1), Jerry Winfrey-Carter (District 5) and Tonya Burns (District 6) voted against Herkenroeder and Lewis.
In addition, the council accepted a $10 million grant from the CS Mott Foundation and an additional $1.5 million from the city’s ARPA funds for a total of $11.5 million in improvements to Berston Field House. (See related story)
Herkenroder won the presidency in one round of voting and Lewis won the vice presidency in two rounds of voting. Voting for the new president and vice president were council members Ladell Lewis (Ward 2), Quincy Murphy (Ward 3), Judy Priestley (Ward 4), Ali Herkenroder (Ward 7), Dennis Pfeiffer (Ward 8) and Eva Worthing ( Department 9). Herkenroder and Lewis will serve as president and vice president for one year.
Last year, Councilman Eric Mays (District 1) was elected council president with Herkenroder as vice president. In February, the council voted to remove Mays as president, and Herkenroeder, as vice president, presided over city council meetings until September, when she informed the council that she could no longer preside because of a change in personal work. The council elected Councilor Pfeiffer to chair the meetings until the annual council organizational meeting, which was usually held the week after election day.
Councilman Dennis Pfeiffer (Ward 8) – (Photo by Tom Travis)
In an email, Herkenroder explained why she changed her mind about being president: “It seems my capacity is not as small as I thought it would be.”
After she was elected, President Herkenroeder asked board members to email her in the coming week to let her know if they would like to serve as chair of one of the five committees, which include: Finance, Government Operations, Grants, Special Affairs and Legislative . According to the city charter, the council president appoints the chairs and vice chairs of each committee.
Interviews for the position of municipal employee will be on December 5
With the retirement of longtime City Clerk Inez Brown in October, Deputy Mayor Davina Donahue was named interim City Clerk. On Monday, the City Council learned that Human Resources Director Eddie Smith received 24 applications for the position.
Interim City Clerk Davina Donahue. (Photo by Tom Travis)
The council went into executive session to present Smith with nominations for town clerk. Council members Eric Mays (Ward 1), Jerry Winfrey-Carter (Ward 5) and Tonya Burns (Ward 6) objected to a closed executive session and remained in their seats in council chambers while the rest of the council went behind closed doors of the commission. a room at the back of the council chamber. The three said they felt the discussion should have been an open meeting.
After exiting closed executive session and returning to open public session, Smith told the council that his staff reviewed every application and eliminated resumes that did not meet the minimum requirements. Smith said only two applicants out of the 24 resumes met the minimum requirements. The council had previously agreed that applicants would be given a number and would be referred to by that number at public meetings. Smith explained that the reason for using a number to identify applicants is to protect each applicant’s privacy. During the meeting, the two candidates targeted #4 and #9.
During the public council meeting, Councilman Eric Mace (District 1) said that interim City Clerk Donahue told him that she had applied. Mays asked Smith if Donahue was one of the two chosen. Smith declined to say whether Donahue was one of the two shortlisted candidates.
Inez Brown has served as Flint’s city clerk for 25 years, appointed in 1997. She previously served as an aide to U.S. Senator Don Riggle.
City Clerk Inez Brown (left) and Board of Elections member and Assistant City Attorney JoAnn Gurley listen to comments from residents during Wednesday’s meeting. (Photo by Tom Travis)
The council voted 6 to 3 to accept both applications. Council members Lewis, Murphy, Priestley, Herkenroeder, Pfeiffer and Worthing voted in favor, while Mays, Winfrey-Carter and Burns voted against the resolution to accept the city clerk’s requests. During the vote, Councilman Mays abstained, but said “this is a sham process and it’s not transparent.” The council will conduct interviews with the two finalists at an open public meeting on December 5. The names of the candidates will be revealed then, according to Council President Herkenroder.
The Council was able to pass a main resolution containing 10 resolutions, including:
- approved the purchase of a front loader with a grapple bucket for the rotting department
- approved $148,000 to be allocated for electrical upgrades to council chambers by Weinstein Electric Co.
- As noted above, accepted a $10 million grant from the CS Mott Foundation and an additional $1.5 million from the city’s ARPA funds for a total of $11.5 million in improvements to Berston Field House.
EVM Managing Editor Tom Travis can be reached at tomntravis@gmail.com.
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