Two vacant seats on the Anna Maria City Commission are filled.
City commissioners voted Jan. 25 to appoint residents Kathleen Morgan-Johnson and Gary McMullen to the depleted board, which had shrunk to three members following Robert Kingan’s and Deanie Sebring’s departures.
Kingan did not seek reelection last year and no one qualified for his seat in November, leaving a vacant two-year term.
Sebring resigned and moved away last October, leaving her successor to complete the remainder of her term, which expires in December.
McMullen and Morgan-Johnson introduced themselves as candidates for the vacant seats at a Jan. 11 forum, where they answered questions from the public.
Commissioners Jonathan Crane, Charlie Salem and Mark Short were left to vote Jan. 25 to fill the vacancies — or not.
Crane attended the meeting via speakerphone and was allowed to participate remotely for the city to meet a three-member quorum.
The commissioners were told to vote one for their first-choice applicant, two for their second choice, or zero if they did not find a suitable applicant.
The applicant who received the most first-choice votes would have their pick of the available terms, while the applicant with more second-choice votes would receive the remaining term.
If an applicant received all zeroes, they would be rejected.
Salem and Short wrote their votes on separate paper ballots collected by city clerk LeAnne Addy.
Crane had delivered his votes via paper ballot to city hall earlier that day.
All three commissioners voted for Morgan-Johnson as their first choice and McMullen second.
Morgan-Johnson chose the two-year term, leaving the shorter term to McMullen.
Following the vote, Addy led Morgan-Johnson and McMullen in reciting their oaths of office and the pair joined Salem and Short on the dais.
McMullen told The Islander Jan. 26 that he is honored to serve on the city commission and it was “exciting” to take the dais as a commissioner.
“For a few years since I’ve been here, I’ve been wanting to do something to help the city improve,” he said. “I just want to make our city a better place to live.”
Morgan-Johnson texted The Islander Jan. 26: “I am deeply honored to have been appointed as a commissioner for our city. I look forward to collaborating with my fellow commissioners, listening to the concerns and ideas of our stakeholders, and making decisions that prioritize the wellbeing of our beautiful island.”
Housekeeping
Ahead of the appointment vote, Short, Crane and Salem held a meeting to clean up some organizational business.
Salem, who was appointed last January and was unopposed for reelection in November, was sworn into his first full two-year term on the commission.
Salem then nominated Short to continue serving as commission chair. The nomination was seconded by Crane and unanimously approved.
Short then nominated Salem as vice chair. Crane also seconded the nomination, which was unanimously approved.
The city commission will meet next at 2 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 8, at city hall, 10005 Gulf Drive.
Directions to attend via Zoom can be found on the city’s website, cityofannamaria.com.
