City Council deadlocked last week on mostly political lines to fill the vacant Sixth Ward seat held by the late John Greco. Neither of two candidates — both of whom are running for the seat this fall — was elected.
However, with those two Sixth Ward council candidates no longer being considered, Council voted unanimously Tuesday evening to appoint Edith Wormley to the position until the end of the year.
The vote was part of a special City Council meeting that drew a large crowd to the Sons of Italy lodge. Many were on hand to hear — and comment on — the city’s latest streetscape proposal for Downtown Revitalization Initiative funds but many also left after Wormley was appointed.
Two councilors were not at the meeting: Democrat Ken Camera, who voted with Democrats last Wednesday to support Juanita Aikens, and fellow Democrat Angelina Marino, who sided with Republicans to support their candidate, John Pruett. Her votes were key, resulting in successive 4-4 votes that left the Sixth Ward without direct Council representation.
The decision angered city Democrats and others who believed the seat should be filled by a Democrat, given the overwhelming enrollment advantage Democrats have in the ward. They pointed out that Greco was a Democrat as well and that Council had a tradition of filling vacancies from the party that held the seat.
At the suggestion of resident and former councilor Jackie Augustine, Council agreed last week to consider filling the position with someone not on the ballot this fall.
- Read more from the Finger Lakes Times
- The Geneva Ward 6 Appointment also discussed on Wednesday morning’s Debrief Podcast on FingerLakes1.com
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