While we now concentrate on the upcoming general election (April 7, 2015), we may lose sight of what happens after that event.
Shawnee will elect a new mayor for the first time in many years, and there are two council seats that could see changes (hopefully) in Wards I & II.
But, what else happens that can have an affect on the city? The council elects a council president. What are the functions of the council president? The council president serves as the chairman of the council committee. The council president also presides over the council when the mayor is absent, attends official functions in the absence of the mayor, and, if something happens where the mayor is no longer able to serve, the council president becomes mayor.
Let's consider the fact that we have two long serving council members vying for the mayor's seat. These are individuals that have both been returned to their seats by the voters in their wards, multiple times.
The results of the primary election indicate that a majority of Shawnee's voters would be willing to have either one of them serve as mayor. Between the two of them, they garnered 58.32% of the votes cast, in a 4 way race. In the general election, the individual that does not become mayor will retain their council seat. As such, it only makes sense that that person becomes council president.
The choice of the council president is up to the rest of the council. I can only hope that they see the logic of my comments above.
