City Council can't agree on ninth member

By JOHN STANG

The Daily Inter Lake

A 4-4 tie has sent the selection of a ninth Kalispell City Council member into overtime.

The council voted four times Monday to selecting a replacement for Bob Herron, who resigned because he moved out of town.

Each time, Mayor Pam Kennedy, plus council members Duane Larsen, Hank Olson and Kari Gabriel, voted for Connie Leistiko to fill the seat.

Each time, council members Jim Atkinson, Randy Kenyon, Tim Kluesner and Bob Hafferman voted for Wayne Saverud as the new council member.

Five votes are needed to select a replacement council member.

Consequently, the council set a meeting for noon Thursday at City Hall to try to break the tie.

Five people - Saverud, Leistiko, Franklyn Jones, John Harlow and Robert Norwood - applied to finish Herron's term, which expires Dec. 31. Consequently, the replacement would have to run for election Nov. 6 if he or she wants to continue serving in 2008.

Although council members praised all five applicants, they nominated only Saverud and Leistiko. Only Leistiko and Saverud spoke to the council during the public comment portion of Monday's council meeting - saying that they care for Kalispell and want to be on the council.

Frustrated by the tie, some council members suggested going to a secret ballot. However, The Daily Inter Lake protested holding a secret vote. The council voted 8-0 to keep the voting public.

Saverud, a small-business man, served on the City Council from 1977 to 1988. He has served on boards for at least 10 area business, arts, health and church organizations.

Leistiko is a former attorney and a former assistant dean of the University of Akron School of Law. She is on the Kalispell police advisory council, and is president of an advisory council for a Flathead County children's' program.

Noting that the council never interviewed the five candidates, Olson suggested that a procedure be drawn up for future council appointments in which the applicants are interviewed.