Still no takers on open seat on Havre City Council

It's been more than a month since Havre City Council member Brian Barrows resigned his seat on the council, but no applicants have come forward to fill the vacancy.

"I've had some conversations with some people in Ward 2 about running, but so far nobody has expressed interest as far as I am aware," council member Caleb Hutchins said.  

The ward includes most of Highland Park, Smithville, the public cemetery and Montana State University-Northern.  

Barrows, a pastor at Abundant Life Ministries, resigned April 3. Frequent trips related to his ministerial duties often caused him to miss meetings, Barrows said, which he did not feel was fair to his constituents.

Council President Andrew Brekke said he has talked with at least six residents in Ward 2 who either had been unsuccessful candidates for council in the past or have had interest in running before. But none of them have applied.

"Ward 2 is a big ward and you would think there would be somebody willing to come forward," Brekke said.  

The city ordinance pertaining to council vacancies says people interested in filling the position must submit an application with their name, current address and why they want to be appointed. All applicants must be at least 18, reside in the ward for at least 60 days prior to submitting the application and be a registered city voter.

If more than one person applies, the applicants are interviewed by council, which then votes to appoint an applicant to occupy the seat until the next election. If the appointee wants to remain on council, they would have to run in the next city election to finish the term.

Brekke said not having an applicant is a situation the city does not often face.

"This is a little unusual, because we normally have people come forward for vacancies, and it's more troublesome for them to file for this position," Brekke said.

Last year, a Ward 2 seat was vacant when Janet Trethewey resigned. Two people came forward to fill that seat, Kevin Zoren and Karen Swenson. The council appointed Swenson who has filed in this year's election to run for a full term.

Brekke said he has tried to reach out to Zoren but does not have his contact information.

Despite three notices from the city advertising the open seat and coverage from local media, Brekke said, some people he talked to as recently as last week were still unaware of the vacancy.

Each of Havre's four wards are supposed to be represented by two members, but a vacancy could also affect the council as a whole.

Brekke said the continued lack of a council member could mean the difference between having and not having the quorum needed to take action on city business if there are multiple absences at a meeting. He added that instances occur in which council needs to vote on issues involving Independence Bank, and Terry Lilletvedt, an employee at the bank, sometimes recuses herself, which could make it difficult to act on those issues.

The lack of an eighth council member could also impact whether council committees that are supposed to have at least three members can vote on matters, Hutchins said.

Barrows served as a member of the council's Labor Relations Committee, which handles city employee grievances and disputes. Having only two members on the committee could make it hard to solve disputes that require a vote, Hutchins said.

Despite the lack of interest in taking the seat, Brekke said, people tend to sound off on Facebook about the council.

"This is important stuff we do for the city of Havre and to have people complain that we don't have the interest of the city at heart and nobody runs for these positions, is somewhat interesting," he said.  

Brekke said he is also worried someone won't step forward to run and complete the last three years of Barrow's term. The deadline to file is June 19.

Brekke said many people have told him they have other commitments.

He also said people may be experiencing political fatigue after a long election year last year and as a high-profile special election for Montana's lone seat in the U.S House of Representatives is underway.  

"Politics never really stopped this year, it just sort of went from one election to the next," he said.

Lilletvedt said people may be turned off by politics but City Council is more about addressing issues within the community.

"It's just you have limited resources, you are trying to do the best you can, and I think everyone works together to work towards the good of the city and the good of the citizens who live here," she said.

She added that people might also be intimidated by the idea of serving on council because they think they don't have a firm grasp on all the issues facing the city. Lilletvedt said serving on council is a learning process - nobody understands fully until they are a member.

Brekke and Hutchins have both said they know people outside of Ward 2 who are interested, but people can only run for seats in their respective wards.

Brekke said that for people who are interested in serving on council but are unsure whether it is a good fit, the need to temporarily fill the vacancy offers them an opportunity, and could wait till June 19 to decide whether to run.

They can take that time to learn about council and see if it is something that fits their schedule, Brekke said. If they find that it doesn't, they would only remain in the seat until January.