There will be seven newcomers on the city council. That's enough for them to elect one of their own as council president. Are you saying it couldn't happen?
Minneapolis had a neophyte council president at least once. It was in 1921 when the city council split 13 to 13 between liberals and conservatives. Although the council convened in early July, they couldn't elect a president until August 2, when they picked Arthur B. Fruen, newly-elected alderman from the 4th Ward (which is now part of the 5th and 7th wards) on the 177th ballot. The first 176 ballots were 13-13 ties between various candidates. Fruen served the remainder of the two years as president, then he was replaced. He served as president again in 1944-45. The 1943 election was another that split the council evenly, and the compromise that was eventually reached (after a court battle) was that the incumbent president, W. Glen Wallace, would serve the first year of the term and that Fruen would serve the second year. (It's always risky to make such a deal, since the makeup of the council could change in the meantime. Ask Trent Lott about that one.) Fruen chose to retire in the 1945 election, meaning he served as president his first two years on the council and his last year. The precedent established by that 1943 compromise proved useful in 1947, when the council split 13-13 one more time. This time Council President Eric G. Hoyer agreed to be replaced by fellow 1st Ward Alderman Clifford L. Swanson for the first year and then serve the second year. Do you suppose he foresaw that Mayor Hubert H. Humphrey Jr. was going to resign during that second year (upon his election to the U.S. Senate), making Hoyer mayor? Tony Hill Logan Park _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
