Baker City Council to fill final two vacancies tonight

BAKER CITY – The Baker City Council is set to appoint the final two remaining vacancies on Tuesday, November 15, hoping to fill the last two seats of a council and finally fill the town’s governing body with a full membership after months of bedlam.

After several months of what a current councilor described to Elkhorn Media Group as “an embarrassing s–tshow”, the City is hopeful to be past the drama and get down to business, to which there is much.

August and September saw the disembowelment of the former council, with a series of resignations that left the council empty.

Baker County Commissioners appointed Doni Bruland, Roger Coles, Randy Daugherty and Larry Pearson on October 18, the minimum number of councilors to constitute a quorum.

The newly appointed four later appointed Loran Joseph to fill the fifth spot, to lock down a quorum in case a councilor had to miss a meeting.

Eight Baker residents, all of whom applied prior to the county’s appointments, still have their rings in the hat and still are interested in being appointed, having applied:

Patti Burrows

Nic Carman

Sean Castle

Norman Kerr

Sandy Lewis

Helen Loennig

Tom Ryder

Dan Garrick

The new council will also take up a number of other pressing issues on November 14, those include revenue issues, the purchase of a new fire engine, the hiring of a new city manager and the appointments of staff to fill city vacancies.

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Elkhorn Media Group