BOUNTIFUL—The Bountiful City Council held a special meeting on Jan. 8 to appoint a new council member to fill the seat left vacant by Kate Bradshaw, who is now the mayor. The seven applicants came before the council to present their qualifications to be considered for the spot. 

The applicants were: Mitch Perkins, Aubry Bennion, Rhonda Perkes, Layne Papenfuss, Pamela Stavros, Millicent Bahr – who is a former council member – and Jason Steenblik.  

“I want to thank all of the candidates that were willing to step forward and serve our community,” said Bradshaw. “Several of us currently serving have been through this process and so we uniquely know what it is like to come and step forward and do this different type of process and examination. So we are very much aware of what it feels like to sit in these seats and have some of those butterflies and nerves as you come forward.”

This is not a position that necessarily comes with high pay or glory, she said. “It is a workhorse level here at the city council. So we very much appreciate all of you who have thought of yourselves in that capacity as being part of this frontline level of government, the government closest to the people and those working on the issues that matter most to the community and that touch them most deeply.”

“The statute requires that our new council member be selected by a majority vote,” said City Attorney Brad Jeppsen. “We have four city council members so that means the person that gets it will need three votes.”

If there is a situation where there are two individuals who each receive two votes they’ll both move on to a final round, he said. “We’ll vote all over again. If we still have a situation where both individuals receive two votes, then the mayor, in our form of government, will cast a tie-breaking vote.”

After listening to all seven candidates, the council had a discussion period before taking a vote.That took an unexpected turn with council member Richard Higginson asked permission to have the candidates stand and give reasons why they should be picked over former council member Millie Bahr.

“I need to understand what about each of you candidates would convince me that you should be appointed instead of Millie Bahr who sat here next to me for four years,” Higginson said. “She came to every meeting perfectly prepared and eloquently spoken and her heart on her sleeve for the residents of Bountiful.”

What about you?, he said. “What would inspire you to vote for yourself instead of Millie Bahr? Can I ask that question of every one of our candidates and have them come up and answer?”

The request caused a bit of awkwardness in the room. Ultimately, after a “straw poll” of the council Bradshaw gave those candidates who wanted to the chance to come up and make a statement in answer to Higginson’s question. Every candidate took the opportunity to give the reasons they believed they would be the better choice.

The council then took a vote and it was split with two votes for Millie Bahr and two for Rhonda Perkes creating the need for a second round vote. In that round, Bahr received three votes with Perkes receiving one vote cast by Higginson. With the majority vote, Bahr was appointed to the council and will be sworn in at the next council meeting.