Brown is new mayor

Troy City Council voted 3-1 on Thursday to appoint Tony Brown as Troy’s new mayor to fill the rest of former mayor Don Banning’s term, which comes to an end November 2013. 

Brown will then have the option to run for re-election. Joe Arts was the dissenting vote.

Brown, a 1966 Troy High School graduate, served as Troy’s mayor from 1974-1979 and his major platforms were to increase police protection, look closely at spending in sewer and water and to shape up Council meetings.

The special Council meeting was an unusual one, as no protocol was in place for the vote. Four Troy citizens expressed interest, including Brown, Dave Hall, Donna Rugani and Council president and interim mayor Phil Fisher.

It took 23 minutes to give candidate presentations and to decide how the vote was going to work, and much of the consternation came from Fisher’s interest in the position. 

Some of the citizens at the meeting believed that Fisher should recuse himself. 

“It’s a conflict of interest,” said Don Giannini. “(Fisher) should abstain from voting.”

The Council attempted a workaround by first passing a motion that Fisher should be mayor, in which Fisher abstained. The reasoning was if the Council members wanted someone else for mayor, they vote nay and then allow Fisher to vote in subsequent rounds, while if they wanted Fisher to simply vote aye and move on.

The remaining council members voted no on Fisher 2-1, with Fran McCully voting for Fisher.

From there, more debate emerged about Fisher’s role in the vote. Fisher said that he attempted to reach his attorney that day, but had no luck, and with the City Attorney yet to be appointed, that left those at the meeting unsure of what was sound legally.

Arts was still not sure whether Fisher should get a vote.

“I’m not entirely comfortable with that,” Arts said. “If you are out for one vote you should be out for all.”

Fisher cited a bylaw that states that when the president of the council is acting mayor, he retains his vote. McCully made a motion for Tony Brown to be appointed mayor, with Fisher seconding.

After the public vote, several Council members wanted to voice faith in their vote.

“Tony’s been a mayor in the past,” McCully said. “I think he can bridge the divide.”

Following Brown’s swearing-in, another meeting started immediately to appoint a City Attorney. With less than five minutes under his belt, Brown asked for a motion to be made to table the decision until he could look at the candidates. Fisher made the motion and Crystal Denton seconded it.

Although Brown retains rights to set a special meeting with 48 hours notice, the decision likely will be made at the Council work meeting June 14 or the regular City Council meeting June 20.