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City of Bartlesville
Posted: Dec 02, 2024 8:28 PMUpdated: Dec 02, 2024 10:13 PM
Curd, Dorsey Appointed Mayor, Vice-Mayor in Contentious City Council Meeting
Nathan Thompson
Jim Curd, Jr. has been named the new mayor of Bartlesville and Trevor Dorsey the new vice-mayor following a fairly contentious City Council meeting Monday evening.
After taking a unified oath of office, the new City Council of incumbents Curd and Dorsey, and newly-elected members Tim Sherrick, Larry East and Aaron Kirkpatrick took to the dias to hear from citizens. However, when it came time for the council to appoint mayor and vice-mayor, the appearance of unity dissolved.
East nominated Sherrick to be mayor, but after realizing the motion would fail, Sherrick seconded his own nomination. A spirited conversation between Kirkpatrick and Sherrick about the need for experience and the time commitment required to be mayor began. Kirkpatrick says that is an important factor for his vote.
Sherrick took several minutes to respond to Kirkpatrick's concern, speaking on his business experience and then ending with a summation of why he feels he is qualified to be mayor.
Sherrick's nomination to be mayor failed by a 2-3 vote, with Curd, Dorsey and Kirkpatrick voting against Sherrick's nomination. Sherrick then nominated Dorsey to be mayor, with East making the second. Dorsey declined the nomination citing the time commitment to be mayor.
On a third call for the vote, Sherrick modified his motion and nominated Curd as mayor, which was seconded by Dorsey. The motion passed 5-0.
Mayor Curd thanked the council for the spirited discussion and acknowledged the voter's will after the Nov. 5 election.
But the theatrics weren't done there. Kirkpatrick made a motion for Dorsey to be vice-mayor, prompting an outburst from a member of the audience. The disruptive audience member left the meeting.
Dorsey seconded the motion, saying he would be willing to serve as vice-mayor, prompting Sherrick to question the nomination.
Dorsey responded that the vice-mayor rarely has stepped in for the mayor's position in recent history, and even if that would happen, he would commit the time.
Dorsey was appointed vice-mayor by a vote of 4-1, with Sherrick dissenting.
Additional spirited, and sometimes heated, debate occurred when the City Council discussed amending criteria for the "Citizens to be Heard" portion of City Council meetings.
More on that in another story.
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