Stalemate continues on Smyrna Council appointments

    Smyrna Town Council members reached no agreements on a number of unresolved appointments at their June 1 meeting.
    For the third meeting in a row, council considered appointing a seventh member to fill a vacant seat on council. Once again, no new council member was appointed.
    Council also voted on Mayor Pat Stombaugh’s nominations for three town committees that did not receive council’s approval at the previous meeting. None of the three committees were approved this time, either.

Nominations for council seat
    The vacant seat on council became open when Bill Pressley resigned in order to run for mayor. On Monday night, Councilman Bill Raynor nominated Tony DeFeo to fill that seat, and Bill Riddagh seconded the motion.
    Council voted 3-2 in favor of appointing DeFeo, but Smyrna Council requires four affirmative votes to pass a motion, so the motion failed.
Mayor Stombaugh, Riddagh and Raynor voted yes, while Valerie White and Larry Thornton voted no. Councilman Memphis Evans was not present. Town Manager Dave Hugg reported that Evans had to work that evening.
    “I really believe Mr. DeFeo, in my opinion, deserves the seat, but I don’t think that’s going to happen,” Stombaugh said after the vote.
    Stombaugh then nominated Regina Brown for the open seat, but no one on council seconded the motion, so no vote was taken.
    After the meeting, Thornton explained his thoughts on the vacant council seat.
    “Unfortunately we did not have a provision in our charter for a special election,” he said. “In an election, the people speak. When you make appointments – as we’ve seen both nationally and locally – it becomes problematic.”
    Thornton said that after talking to some of his constituents, some of them had problems with appointing someone who was defeated in an election.
    “It’s nothing against Tony DeFeo,” Thornton said.
    “I don’t want to be an obstacle, but I want to make sure we’re doing the right thing,” Thornton continued. “I think there needs to be some more searching done, and there needs to be a consensus of council to get the right person.”
    White, who also voted against the appointment, declined to comment after the meeting.
    Mayor Stombaugh said it was “absolutely ridiculous” that council has not appointed a seventh council member to fill the open seat.
    “We need to have a full council and it needs to be done as soon as possible,” she said. “We need to move on.”
    “I believe Tony DeFeo should be the man – he ran for the seat, he spent money,” Stombaugh added. “He stepped up to the plate, he knocked on people’s doors, and no one else did.”
    Stombaugh also described her second recommendation for the open seat, Regina Brown, as someone who has been involved.
    “She’s another person who stepped up to the plate,” Stombaugh said. “She’s another person who has shown interest.”
    Brown said she would absolutely be willing to serve if appointed by council.
    “I’d be very honored to serve,” she said.

Nominations for three committees not approved
    Mayor Stombaugh also put forth her recommendations for three town committees at Monday’s council meeting, but none of these recommendations mustered the four votes needed for approval.
    For the Business Development Committee, Stombaugh nominated herself as chair, with Joe Richichi, Joe Sheridan, Melaine Minear, Ron and Ellen Sayers (who would share one vote), Bill Willis and Robert Fritzsche as committee members. Stombaugh’s nominations failed after a 3-2 vote, with Stombaugh, Riddagh and Raynor voting yes, and Thornton and White voting no.
    Stombaugh’s nominations for the Charter Review Committee also failed 3-2, by the same vote. Stombaugh’s nominees for this committee were Bill Raynor as chair, Tony DeFeo, Al Kraft, Barbara Allsopp and Regina Brown.
    The mayor’s nominations for the Personnel Committee failed 3-1, with Thornton voting no and White abstaining. Stombaugh had nominated Bill Raynor as chair, along with Bob Riddagh, Valerie White, Kathy Melvin and Regina Brown.
    After all three committee appointments failed, Stombaugh asked those who did not vote in favor of her nominations to explain why.
    In response, Thornton said that he and the mayor had gone back and forth on his reasons and added that Stombaugh didn’t think that compromise was the way to go.
    “If I don’t agree with it, I won’t vote for it, simple as that,” Thornton said. “My vote is my vote, and I don’t have to explain it to you, madam mayor.”
    Thornton added that he would explain his vote to his constituents, and would be happy to do so.
    White also refused to explain her vote to the mayor.
    After the meeting, Stombaugh said she was very pleased with the people she nominated for those three committees.
    “I tried to go by people who offered to serve, and what their qualifications were,” she said.
    Stombaugh also expressed frustration about some council members’ opposition to her nominations.
    “The bottom line is I don’t even know what the problem is,” she said. “They won’t say anything.”

No appointment for vice mayor
    On the unresolved issue of selecting a vice mayor, Mayor Stombaugh asked that the issue remain tabled, and no action was taken during the meeting.
    At previous meetings, council did not approve Stombaugh’s nomination of Bill Raynor for vice mayor.
    “I’m not going to recommend a vice mayor again until we have a full council,” Stombaugh said after the meeting.