Who Should be the Next Fairfax Council Member?

The Fairfax Town Council is at odds over who should fill its vacant seat, according to the Marin Independent Journal. 

The council held a five-hour meeting last Thursday where the four council members interviewed seven of the eight people who submitted applicants for the open seat, vacated by Councilman Ryan O’Neil who moved just outside the town’s limits and resigned in February.

The applicants are:

• Barbara Coler, 17-year resident, air quality program manager, former planning commissioner. She cited the town’s revenue challenges and maintaining the small-town quality of life as important issues.
• Renee Goddard, 18-year resident, teacher and environmental consultant. She cited the need for youth programs and public transportation to rural areas as key issues.
• Peter Lacques, 14-year resident, attorney, planning commissioner. He listed maintaining service during economic downturns and adapting to climate change as important local issues.
• William Madsen, 17-year resident, firefighter, former planning commissioner. His key issues are financing town improvements and readdressing the Town Center Element of the General Plan.
• Christopher Lang, 41-year resident, landscape gardener. He wants a sustainable, transparent budget and to improve the public’s view of the town staff.
• Bernardo Del Santo, 50-year resident, retired from law enforcement. Maintaining services despite revenue shortfalls and traffic issues are his priorities.
• Mirza Inayat Khan, 7-year resident, teacher. Supporting a family-friendly community and generating safe and environmental transportation are his listed concerns.

Raymond Burgarella, a 38-year resident and retired consultant, withdrew his application before the meeting.

At the end of Thursday’s meeting, Fairfax Mayor John Reed and Councilman Larry Bragman opted for Coler while Vice Mayor David Weinsoff and Councilwoman Pam Hartwell were in support of Goddard, who was the project coordinator of last year’s popular Streets for People event in downtown Fairfax, according to the IJ. 

The council will make its selection at the April 3 meeting. Who would you like to see as the new face behind the council dais?

Hartwell said she is planning on resigning from council in June because she is moving. The exact date of her resignation hasn’t been announced, yet, and for now the council will focus on filling its first vacancy.

At the same meeting last week, the council also drafted an ordinance that allows it to appoint a replacement who would serve until the November 2013 election, when the open seat would be placed on the ballot, according to the IJ. 

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