Wanted: Hayden mayor
HAYDEN — The city of Hayden announced it will accept applications for interim mayor until 5 p.m. April 25, although it remains unclear how an applicant will be selected to fill the position.
The Hayden City Council decided in March to open the interim mayoral search to members of the public because it has been unable to appoint from within and is at an impasse for how the rest of the process will go.
During Tuesday night's council meeting, Councilman Ed DePriest said he will recuse himself from voting on potential candidates if Councilman Roger Saterfiel remains in the running. DePriest said he does not believe the council will be capable of a fair vote.
“My conscience really begs me to question whether I can participate in a decision related to Councilmember Saterfiel," DePriest said. "If he were to step away from it, I'm all for the process moving forward with the council making the decisions."
DePriest read part of a prepared statement regarding his decision, but was stopped by council President Matt Roetter, who said it did not fit into the discussion at hand, which was about setting the application timeline.
"Well you brought up the issue of two or three voters and not having a tie. I’m adding onto your conversation," DePriest said.
"We can go on further with that, but let’s take the first step getting this decided because I need to keep this moving," Roetter said, ensuring DePriest would have the opportunity to finish his statement. DePriest was not able to finish the statement before the discussion closed.
The council is at a stalemate for who will narrow the list of candidates. The options presented at the meeting were:
1) Non-candidate council members rate candidates numerically with the top advancing to interviews
2) Council debates and decides
3) Independent body review by non-council people, such as the Hayden Chamber president or prior mayors
Councilwoman Sandra White said she would support option No. 2.
"Statutes give us that opportunity and that responsibility to choose the next mayor," she said.
Saterfiel was on board for option No. 3, noting he didn't think the council could "select who is going to be interviewed without prejudice and bias.”
Roetter said Saterfiel’s preferred option is "anti-democratic."
"To take that away and give it to a group of builders or developers or bankers or whoever, they have biases. How do you take bias away?” Roetter said. "How do you unring a bell? If it boils down, everybody has an opinion. Everybody has some sort of bias, whether that’s good or bad, you have to evaluate that yourself. I’m very much opposed to taking away something that we were elected to do, and that’s to represent the people. I’m very much opposed to No. 3.”
City attorney Fonda Jovick reminded council members they have an obligation to do everything within their power to appoint the mayor.
"Statute says ‘shall,'" Jovick said. "It is derelict of your responsibilities to not."
It was decided applications will be kept by Jovick and city administrator Brett Boyer until a decision is made how the applicants will be organized and rated.
"It's a little unsettling to solicit for applicants without actually knowing what the process is going to be,” Jovick said.
If the impasse stands, council members will have to sign an affidavit stating they cannot reach a successful vote to approve a candidate. Jovick would present it to the district court asking for Gov. Brad Little to appoint a mayor. The council would provide the top candidates for the governor to consider.
The mayor is the chief administrative official who works with the city administrator and staff to conduct the day-to-day city operations. The position is part time, with a varying schedule. The appointment will serve until a mayor is elected and takes office in January 2024.
Applications and information about the duties and responsibilities of mayor are available at www.cityofhaydenid.us or in person at Hayden City Hall, 8930 N. Government Way.
