Durham to fill City Council seat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Why some want to wait.
The Durham City Council is moving forward with a plan to replace one of its members in three weeks, despite concerns some people may not be able to participate in the online process during the coronavirus pandemic.
On Monday the city clerk plans to post the application and questionnaire to fill the Ward 3 City Council seat held by Vernetta Alston, who resigned last week to make an early transition to the 29th District seat in the state House of Representatives.
Alston ran unopposed in the Democratic primary for the seat in March, and there are no Republicans running in November. The seat was previously held by MaryAnn Black, who announced last year she would not run again. She died on March 25.
People who are interested in the position must live in Ward 3, which covers a western portion of Durham, and submit the application information within 10 days.
On April 27, the council plans to identify three to seven finalists., who will be interviewed at a special April 30 meeting.
The council plans to choose someone at or by its May 4 meeting.
If a replacement isn’t chosen in 60 days, a special election would have to be set, said City Councilman Charlie Reece, who outlined the process to council members during a virtual council meeting last week.
Freeman, Middleton object
Council members DeDreana Freeman and Mark-Anthony Middleton objected to the plan, which the council supported in a 5-2 vote. Alston, Reece, Javiera Caballero, Mayor Pro Tem Jillian Johnson and Mayor Steve Schewel voted for the plan.
“I believe if we implement this plan under emergency (stay-at-home) orders, that we are potentially inviting a master class on what it looks like to have privilege insulate you from hardship,” Middleton said. “A master class.”
Middleton and Freeman said holding an election at the same time as the national election in November would be the most inclusive way to fill the seat.
Moving ahead now, the council, which already struggles with inclusion during normal times, will eliminate people who won’t have the physical or emotional bandwidth to participate, Middleton said.
That includes people who don’t have internet access to apply and attend the meetings during the process, some of whom are worrying about sick family members or paying their bills and feeding their family after being laid off, they said.
“The people ... who we are most concerned about accessing government, inclusion, equity, would bear the most hardship in assessing this process at this time.,” Middleton said.
The last time the council filled a vacancy was when then-council member Schewel was elected mayor in 2017. That process started around Dec. 9, 2017, and the council appointed Caballero, the city’s first Latina council member, Jan. 16, 2018.
Council’s first virtual meeting
The April 6 City Council meeting was the first held online. In the virtual meeting, streamed live on YouTube and other outlets, council members’ images were stacked Brady Bunch-style fashion in a Zoom meeting that many have turned to during the stay-at-home order.
In the middle of Middleton’s comments, his video feed glitched and he could no longer be heard. The council took a short break to address the issue. Middleton returned to the meeting, via audio only, about 15 minutes later.
Reece said the city charter, which defines Durham’s governing system, requires the council to try to fill the vacancy.
“The city charter is really clear the word used is shall, not may,” Reece said.
If a special election was held, Ward 3 wouldn’t have representation until the new member would likely be sworn in December, he said.
While the council has 60 days to complete the process, Reece recommended the city move forward with the 22-day timeline to bring on the new person before the council adopts the city’s budget in June.
In a perfect world, Reece said, they would be able to take more time and have in-person meetings and comment periods.
But officials need to do what is hard, he said.
“I think we will bear a particularly heavy burden to collaborate together and with other community leaders and organizations to try to come up with robust forms of public input and comment that don’t include showing up to a City Council meeting in person,” Reece said.
“I think we are up to that challenge. I think Durham is up for that challenge, and I think it is really important that we move forward,” he said.
Johnson said the appointment is for a year and half left on Alston’s term and she doesn’t think city resources should be put into a special election given the revenue losses the pandemic will cost the city.
“I think we can and will be able to create a process where people can have their voices heard,” Johnson said.
Caballero also expressed concern about spending money on an election and situations where, without a Ward 3 member, the council might lock 3-3 on votes during the budget.
Freeman called that unlikely and expressed concern about the fast process.
Middleton said various governmental deadlines have been pushed back, including the federal tax deadline, and asked why the council couldn’t do the same.
“All of the shalls that guide our country have been suspended,” he said.
The Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People submitted a resolution to the council calling for a special election.
“We are a community with plenty of obstacles without a total shutdown from our government (both state and local),” Committee Chair Omar Beasley wrote in a text. “This is not a normal time and there are a lot of things that they aren’t doing because of this pandemic. This should be included.”
This story was originally published April 13, 2020 at 5:50 AM.
