Citing her voting record and number of abstentions, Ketchum Mayor-elect Randy Hall has taken Planning and Zoning Commissioner Anne Corrock's name off a list of candidates to replace him on the City Council.
"In reviewing your voting record on the P&Z, and some of your public testimony on community issues, you and I fundamentally disagree," Hall wrote to Corrock in a letter dated Dec. 20. "I am concerned that two critical community issues, workforce housing and the YMCA, do not have your full support and could cause difficulty for you in helping to move our city forward. To meet the full intent of the public's will, these issues will require significant advocacy, creativity and energy. The City Council must make courageous decisions with all practical speed."
Hall, the current City Council president, defeated Mayor Ed Simon and three other candidates in November's municipal election. When he is sworn into office Monday, Jan. 3, he will have to nominate someone to take his council seat.
Corrock was among four people vying for two council seats in the November election. She came in third, losing out to incumbents Baird Gourlay and Ron Parsons.
Her supporters said she should be the natural choice as Hall's replacement, given her third-place showing.
Corrock made her intentions known to Hall in mid-November.
"I am ready, willing and able to fill that position," she told him in a letter.
But Hall has other plans for the governing body.
"I believe that the large margin of success achieved by myself, Baird (Gourlay) and Ron (Parsons) during the election is a mandate for the vision that we share," Hall wrote in his letter. "I also believe that Ketchum voters chose me for mayor because I will build consensus and create the positive environment that is essential for a cohesive, productive government."
Hall said in an interview Tuesday, Dec. 26, that Corrock doesn't share the same vision held by himself, Parsons and Gourlay. He added that seven abstentions in two years on the P&Z is too many.
"She's a valuable member of our community and she deserves thoughtful consideration, and that's what I gave her," Hall said Tuesday. "The City Council has a lot of work to do. I believe it would be counterproductive to put someone on the council who doesn't always vote. We've been making some progress on key issues with regard to land use, workforce housing and the YMCA. Our positions were not, are not, ambiguous. We want to go forward. I don't want to fight on those issues."
Corrock said she abstained on a vote during her first meeting as a commissioner because she didn't want to vote on the "findings of fact," which solidified decisions from a meeting she did not attend.
Other abstentions pertained to issues that she thought merited further discussions with developers.
"None of the abstaining votes had anything to do with my picking and choosing what I wanted to vote on," she said.
She said she supports the YMCA in concept, and has voted for affordable housing projects.
"It's not affordable housing; it's rezoning people don't want in their backyard," she said. "It's the increase in density ... it's land being spot zoned."
Corrock added that many people voted for her because of her voting record.
"Randy is using my voting record for his decision, but that was public knowledge and 42 percent of voters like the way I'm doing my job," she said.
Corrock said she will finish her term on P&Z, and isn't yet thinking about her next political move.
"I'm really happy with the support I do have," she said.
Hall said he is currently interviewing candidates and hopes to present a name to the council on Jan. 3. The council must vote to confirm the nomination.
