Source: City of Richardson.
The Richardson City Council met July 20, 2026. One of the topics was "Review and Discuss the City Council appointment process and consider approval of the application." The council had already voted 6-1 on June 8 to adopt the vacancy-filling process as part of its Rules of Order and Procedure. (The lone "no" vote was by Dan Barrios who objected to the process of awarding a Key to the City, not to the appointment process of filling vacancies on council.) Given that support, you'd be forgiven for thinking that this agenda item would be over quickly. You'd be wrong, for two reasons. First, the council had agreed on the twelve-step process, but not on the calendar. Second, Curtis Dorian. In effect, Dorian asked the council to revisit the process it had already debated and adopted just six weeks earlier.
The deliberation over the calendar took longer than it should, but in the end, they shaved only one week off the eleven-week process by reducing the application period from roughly three weeks to roughly two. Mayor Omar favored three weeks. sayng people needed time to learn about the opportunity, discuss it with their families, and decide whether to apply. The council intentionally created a transparent process with multiple opportunities for public input instead of a quick appointment. Councilmember Corcoran argued that shortening the application period would not materially speed up the appointment process. Despite those arguments, a majority of the council appeared to be in favor of a two-week application period.
The calendar debate was one reason the agenda item took a long time. The other reason was Curtis Dorian. I'll let him speak for himself.
I know over the past week, I've spoken to a lot of people. A lot of people have reached out to me on the procedures that we put together in the Rules of Order and Procedure, and also to some of the points the speakers brought up tonight about an elected position. One of the things I'd just like for us to consider or look at, which is not deviating from our Rules of Order and Procedure, but to potentially, particularly look at it from a different perspective. One, I do agree that City Council seats should be an elected position, and the residents of Richardson should have that opportunity to vote for those seats. So one of the things I'd like to propose is that the council appoint a temporary individual to the seat for that period of time.
...
In other words, put someone in there temporarily and wait until January when they can pick up their packets from our city secretary's office and then proceed from there.
...
So I would eliminate pretty much all of those [steps]. And again, I'm open to hearing anyone else on the council that would be willing to appoint someone immediately if we need to. Okay, within a week or two, and we can move on and not go through all of those processes. And then come January, anyone that does want to run, they have the opportunity to run for office, just like we all do by picking up a packet.Source: City of Richardson.I don't understand why Dorian thinks his proposed change "is not deviating from the Rules of Order and Procedure." Proposing to "move on and not go through all of those processes" is not tweaking the process; it's skipping most of it. The machinery of government is designed to move deliberately, not quickly. Those steps allow applicants to be vetted, give the public an opportunity to weigh in, and give the council time to consider that public input.
And if Dorian is proposing to impose a new condition on the appointee, that the appointee agree not to run for election in May, 2027, that ought to be a non-starter. The City Charter already defines the qualifications to hold office in Richardson, and those qualifications don't include any promises not to run for the office next year. The other six council members were perhaps more polite than I would have been, with several just saying they were content with the process they agreed to week ago. Instead of saying why they were rejecting Dorian's plan, they let it die through lack of support.
The whole hour-and-seven-minute discussion left me thinking that the vacancy the council was preparing to fill was for the wrong seat.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
"Twelve careful waypoints
Built for sunlight, not shortcuts.
Trust takes time to earn."
—h/t ChatGPT
No comments:
Post a Comment