Appointment, special election or both? Method of filling Third Ward vacancy still undetermined

The question of how a Third Ward Marshalltown city council vacancy created by the departure of Dex Walker on July 3 will be filled remains up in the air after conflicting messages have been shared over the last week.

Originally, the city had announced plans to move forward with appointing a replacement to serve until the November general election, where that individual and any other interested candidate would have the opportunity to be on the ballot to serve out the remainder of Walker's term until the end of 2025. On Friday afternoon, City Clerk Alicia Hunter said consultation with the Marshall County Auditor's Office had indicated a requirement that the vacancy be on the Sept. 12 special election ballot -- along with the already scheduled franchise fee vote -- because the special election date is more than 60 days after the vacancy occurred. At that time, she said the council would not be making an appointment before the special election.

Later on Friday, however, Hunter reported that some councilors were still interested in making an appointment before a special election, and they would be exploring the legality of the option with City Attorney Steve Leidinger of Lynch Dallas P.C. Under that course of action, interviews would be conducted on Aug. 14, and the appointment would be made during the Aug. 28 meeting. The appointee would sit on the council for two meetings -- Aug. 28 and Sept. 11 -- before the seat would go to the ballot on Sept. 12.

No final determinations have been made, but Hunter hoped to have some sort of an update in time for Monday night's city council meeting. When reached for comment, Councilors Gabe Isom and Barry Kell said they were also seeking clarification -- according to Kell, the council has received multiple interpretations of Iowa Code throughout the process -- and also hoped to have a satisfactory explanation of the legal questions they've been seeking answers to by Monday night.

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Contact Robert Maharry at 641-753-6611 ext. 255 or rmaharry@timesrepublican.com.