Twin Cities voters to decide if mayors appoint city officeholders

Nov. 3—Races for state and federal offices aren't the only thing on the ballot in Pittsburg County for the upcoming Nov. 8 General Election.

Special elections are set in Hartshorne and Haileyville on Nov. 8 to determine if voters will give up their right to elect individuals to some city offices.

In Hartshorne, voters elect the city clerk and city treasurer. A proposition on the Nov. 8 ballot asks voters if they want to let Hartshorne's mayor appoint them instead.

In neighboring Haileyville, a proposition on the Nov. 8 ballot asks voters if they want to give up their right to elect the chief of police and instead let Haileyville's mayor appoint the city's top law enforcement officer.

Propositions in both Hartshorne and Haileyville state the mayoral appointments would have to be approved by their respective city councils.

What do the current officeholders think of the proposals to change their offices to ones filled by a mayoral appointment as opposed to elected by the voters?

Hartshorne City Clerk Elizabeth Wilson said she opposes making the Hartshorne offices appointive instead of elective.

"I think that's something that's taking away from the people," Wilson said. "I feel like it's made out to be our idea and it's not," she said of the proposal to let the mayor appoint the city clerk and city treasurer.

Making the two Hartshorne offices appointive instead of elective entered the conversation at least in part in response to raises Wilson and City Treasurer Renee Montgomery said they sought.

"If you're elected, you can't get one until the beginning of the next term," Wilson said.

Montgomery said she and Wilson asked for extra duty pay and eventually got the raises. Making the offices appointive instead of elective remained part of the conversation.

Wilson stated her total opposition to the proposal.

"I don't want to be appointed. I want to be elected," Wilson said.

What about Montgomery?

"It has its pros and cons," Montgomery said. "Everybody needs to do their research and do what they think is best."

At Haileyville, Police Chief Brian Mathis said he opposes having the police chief's office appointed by the mayor instead of elected by the people.

Mathis maintained an elected official must reside in the city he or she represents, but there is no such requirement for a city employee, which is what an appointed police chief would be.

He said he resides in Haileyville, where residents have access to him, whether he's on-duty or off.

"They have 24-hour access to me, even though I'm off-shift," he said. "Everything that happens here affects me directly."

Mathis said he's heard from Haileyille residents who oppose losing their right to elect their police chief and are against the measure to have the mayor fill the office through an appointment.

"A lot of people have come to me and said they're going to vote 'no,'" Mathis said. "They have a say now. If the police chief is appointed by the mayor and approved by the council, they have no voice in it."

If the measures do pass, the current officials would remain in office until the end of their current elected terms, since there are prohibitions against legislating elected officials out of office.

Wilson and Mathis both said their current terms end in 2023, while Montgomery said hers ends in 2025.

City councils in the two cities passed resolutions to bring the propositions to a vote. Both the Hartshorne and Haileyville propositions are one-sentence measures on the Nov. 8 ballot.

Hartshorne's proposition states: "Shall the City Clerk and the Treasurer for the City of Hartshorne, Oklahoma be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the majority of the City Council?"

Haileyville's measure states: "Shall the Marshall/Chief of Police be appointed by the Mayor with the approval of the council?"

A "yes" vote on the Haileville ballot means the voter agrees to give up the right to vote to elect the city's marshall/police chief and to let the mayor appoint the police chief going forward. A "no" vote means the voter does not support the mayoral appointment and prefers to let the police chief continue to be elected by the people.

Likewise, a "yes" vote in the Hartshorne city elections means the voter supports giving up the right to let the people continue to elect the city clerk and city treasurer and instead prefers to let the mayor appoint both citywide officeholders.

A "no" vote in Hartshorne means the voter is against the mayor appointing the city clerk and city treasurer and prefers to the let the people continue to elect them.

Contact James Beaty at jbeaty@mcalesternews.com.