Mel Witherspoon left Erie City Council in December because of city term limit rules.
However, one of his former colleagues wants to bring Witherspoon back to the seven-member, all-Democratic panel as an appointee.
A resolution sponsored by Councilman Ed Brzezinski on council’s Wednesday meeting agenda seeks to appoint Witherspoon to the seat vacated by the January 2023 resignation of former Councilwoman Liz Allen.
Brzezinski’s resolution seeks Witherspoon’s appointment to the seat in part because of Witherspoon’s “many years of experience with City Council.” Brzezinski made the suggestion even though council has begun soliciting applications from Erie residents to fill the vacant post.
Council has used the public application process several times in the past to fill City Council vacancies. Most recently, Susannah Faulkner was chosen from a pool of applicants in February, during a special public session, to serve in the vacant Allen seat through the end of 2023.
According to City Clerk Laurie Watson’s office, 12 Erie residents have expressed interest in the appointment, including Faulkner, Witherspoon and former Councilman Michael Keys, who lost his re-election bid in November.
However, City Council is not required to fill the vacancy via that process, and Brzezinski’s resolution seeks to bypass that process altogether.
Council can legally appoint any qualified citizen to the seat by a simple majority vote — the only requirements are that an appointee be at least 18 years of age and a resident of the city of Erie for at least one year.
Councilman Chuck Nelson, who served as council’s president in 2023, said he will not support Witherspoon’s appointment.
“This seems to be an attempt to circumvent a process to maintain the status quo,” Nelson said. “The process we’ve established and used in the past helps us come up with a consensus candidate. I think this is pretty divisive.”
City Council reorganization
Brzezinski, who won re-election in the Nov. 8 municipal election, also won a two-year seat that was also on the ballot because of Allen’s resignation.
As a result of Brzezinski’s dual wins, City Council is required to appoint someone to serve in the former Allen seat between now and Jan. 1, 2026.
Brzezinski plans to accept the four-year seat he won on Nov. 8. He will be sworn in Wednesday morning — City Council’s first regular meeting of 2024 — along with two other Democrats who won Council seats in November: former Erie School Board member Tyler Titus and former City Councilwoman Kathy Schaaf.
Councilwoman Jasmine Flores, the panel’s vice-president in 2023, is also nominated to serve as City Council president in 2024. She would succeed Nelson, who nominated her for the position.
Schaaf has been nominated by Flores to serve as vice-president.
Witherspoon: ‘This is my city’
Witherspoon’s third consecutive four-year City Council term ended in December. He was elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2015 and 2019.
He also served two terms on council from 1996 to 2004, and served as council president in 2014 and 1998.
Witherspoon, 79, told the Erie Times-News he will accept the appointment if a council majority signs off.
“This is my city, my home and if I can assist in making it a better place, I will try,” Witherspoon said.
City Solicitor Ed Betza said that City Council must fill the vacancy within 30 days, and he confirmed that the panel “has broad discretion in how to fill that seat. However, it requires four votes to fill it.
“Council has used a ton of different processes to fill vacancies over the years,” Betza said. “It’s their duty to fill the seat and they need to work together to find the best candidate for the benefit of the city.”
City Council meets Wednesday at 9 a.m. in the Bagnoni Council Chambers at City Hall, 626 State St. The meeting can be viewed on Facebook and YouTube.
Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on Twitter at @ETNflowers.
