Simon plans
personnel changes
City attorney in
the crosshairs
"I
think the voters elected me to effect change in the city government. In
order to do that, I really do need to have a city attorney who has some
fresh ideas and a fresh perspective."
- Ed
Simon, Ketchum
mayor-elect
By GREG
STAHL
Express Staff Writer
Ketchum
Mayor-elect Ed Simon indicated last week that he plans to replace Ketchum
City Attorney Margaret Simms when he takes office in January.
"I
think the voters elected me to effect change in the city government,"
Simon said. "In order to do that, I really do need to have a city
attorney who has some fresh ideas and a fresh perspective."
Simon said
he has already selected a potential replacement but would not share his or
her name.
The news
came as a surprise to City Attorney Margaret Simms, who said she had not
planned to leave her job in the near future. Simms added that she was
disappointed to have learned about Simon’s intentions through the local
grapevine, rather than from Simon himself.
State law
allows for removal of appointed employees by a majority vote if initiated
by the mayor and by a unanimous vote if initiated by the city council.
A new city
attorney must be appointed by the mayor and confirmed by a majority of the
city council.
"If
the city council shall refuse to confirm any nomination, the mayor shall
then within 10 days thereafter, nominate another person to fill the
office, and he may continue to nominate until his nominee is
confirmed," according to Idaho Code.
The
question then becomes one of the city council’s willingness to go along
with Simon’s vision for the city’s staff.
In brief
interviews last week, council members were not clear about how they plan
to handle the pending situation. Councilman Maurice Charlat said it is too
early for him to comment intelligently about Simon’s proposal.
Councilwoman Chris Potters said only, "It seems like deja vous to
me," an apparent reference to Simon’s rocky political past.
In 1992,
Simon was recalled from the Ketchum City Council only 10 months into his
term over a personnel dispute involving Ketchum Police Chief Cal Nevland.
The
council, including Simon, unanimously voted to fire Chief Nevland. Ketchum
citizens, in short, disagreed with the action and recalled three of the
four council members who voted for Nevland’s firing.
The past
aside, Simon said the mayor, as chief executive of the city, must have a
city attorney he’s comfortable with. Recent actions at Ketchum City Hall
prompted him to believe he would not be comfortable with Simms, he said.
The closing
of Ninth Street, the city’s redrafted election ordinance and a lack of
action on a conflicts of interest policy are among Simon’s objections.
"I’m
not blaming Margaret (Simms) for all of this, but at the same time I want
a city attorney who’s there to give a different perspective," he
said.