08/05/2005: "BOCC: Still No Decision -But Now We Know Why"

ig_BOCC_8-4-05 (21k image)

BOCC Still Minus A Commissioner - UPDATE The Board will bring up the matter again on August 9th at 1:30 P.M at their regularly scheduled meeting.
The continuation of a meeting by the BOCC on who should be Miller's replacement took a sudden and unexpected turn on Thursday morning as the BOCC met to discuss appointing a Commissioner for District 3. Commissioner Ranker in his opening remarks made a strong push to appoint Jamie Stephens -ex-Commissioner Miller's stated choice- as the next County Commissioner for District three. As Chair, Ranker started the meeting by repeating his previous comments on how important he felt it was that the recommendations of the Democratic Council be followed, explaining that he felt they had done an excellent job, and that it was grass-roots effort. He then added that he had traveled to Lopez and talked to a number of people, as well as talking to County department heads and elected officials, and that "by a significant margin they supported Jamie Stephens."

Once Ranker had finished, he looked to Commissioner Lichter, who stated that he believed that Rankers comments were "inappropriate and did not follow the process…especially in light of what we have been doing". At this point Ranker interrupted to state that all he was doing was trying to move the process along, but Lichter was having none of it: "No Commissioner, your intention was to get Jamie appointed, and to interrupt me". Lichter then continued by saying "My ideal commissioner would have the following characteristics:

--he should be an experienced consensus-builder
--he should have issue-related experience at the County level, and beyond
--his educational background should fit, in some important way, with a commissioner's work
--he should possess interests and values publically recognized as befitting a commissioner
--he should have considerable experience working with diverse individuals and groups
--his experience should make him a fast learner in the commissioner's post
--he should be a committed environmentalist, and an outstanding steward for our land

Lichter noted that Ranker had agreed to also use the same criteria. He then read summaries of the three candidates resumes so that the audience could contrast and compare them against the criteria.

One area he pointedly contrasted between Stevens and Myhr (it was now obvious that Lee Lehman was no longer on the short list) were education and governmental experience. While he acknowledge that all three candidates had B.A. degrees, and that Stevens had taken some business classes (Stephens Resume), Myhr had a B.A. in economics, and he also held a Masters in International Affairs and Economics, and a Ph.D. in Public Law and Government. ( Myhr Resume ). Lichter went on to agree with Ranker that due weight should be given to the excellent work and the process the Democratic Council had gone through to make their selection that ranked Stevens ahead of Myhr, and that while the opinions of those who live on Lopez are very important, "we must appoint a candidate to serve all of San Juan County".

Once he completed the summaries, he said that "in responding to Kevin's comments on Jamie Stephens..there is no question in my mind that the qualifications of Bob Myers cannot possibly be matched by the other candidates." He then made a motion to appoint Bob Myhr for the District 3 County Commissioner position. Ranker was quiet for moment, and then said to the audience "There is an obvious division here..I would like to reconvene until next week to give this some more thought." Lichter then asked Ranker "Your not seconding my nomination Commissioner"? Ranker replied, "No, I am not".