District Meetings Inconclusive; Council Faced with Decision

By Dave Freneaux

    Tuesday evening the sixth in a series of meetings was held to discuss how Central's City Council is elected.  The committee was charged by Mayor Watts to research Term Limits and Council elections by Districts and Divisions.  Many in attendance at these meetings, including the citizens on the research committee, expressed their preferences.  In the end, preference was expressed for many scenarios, including 5 Districts, 7 Districts, 5 At-Large, 5 Divisions, and a hybrid of 5 Districts plus 2 At-Large  The only common thread of agreement in the majority of the opinions expressed was to move to Districts in some form.  Committee chairman Wayne Messina stated that he intends to submit his report to the Mayor as requested.

     Under State Law, the City Council makes the final decision on whether to change the election method for Council Seats.  An Ordinance creating five Districts was introduced by Council Member Louis DeJohn in June, but DeJohn delayed the Ordinance at the Mayor's request so that further study could be done.  Messina expressed at the meeting that, after forwarding the committee report to the Mayor, he will consider the information and that the matter would be taken up by the City Council.