4-25-14 fdl councilmember calls council vacancy appointment process "a step back for democracy"

A Fond du Lac city councilmember says the decision not to appoint a council candidate in the spring election to fill a vacancy on council is a step backward for democracy.  Councilmember Gary Miller says instead of accepting applications and appointing someone, the council should have appointed Mick Burroughs who campaigned for office and fell less than 200 votes short of  being elected earlier this month.  "I don't see how a city councilmember can justify taking 1,302 votes that Mr. Burroughs got and change it to four.  Four being the minimum number of votes it takes on the council to fill that position,"  Miller told WFDL news.  Miller encourages residents to call their councilmembers if they feel the same way he does. "The 1302 people that voted for Mick, I hope their memory is long and will last another 12 months because to me it is absolutely wrong.  There are councilmembers that used their Facebook accounts to come up with their decision and that's wrong,"  Miller said.  "What we've done, I think, we've taken a giant step back for democracy in the city of Fond du lac."  Applications for the vacancy are being accepted through May 2^nd.   After reviewing the applications the council will interview a group of finalists and make an appointment at their May 14^th meeting.