Rawlins City Council changes vices

While the House of Representatives hit a stalemate in electing leadership in Washington D.C. on January 3, nearly 1,800 miles away the Rawlins City Council decided on their own leaders. The entire process was held by secret ballot.

The governing body will have two familiar faces in leadership for the next two years. Mayor Terry Weickum was reappointed for another two years on January 3 while Steve Sanger was appointed vice-mayor.

Sanger previously served as vice-mayor from 2017 to 2021 under mayors Richard Grauberger and Steve Nicholson. Council members Jacquelin Wells and Darril Garner were nominated for mayor and vice-mayor, respectively, but were unable to get enough votes. Wells served as vice-mayor from 2021 until 2023.

Changing Vices

Since 2009, it has been rare for a vice-mayor not to be reappointed to their position if they were still a member of the governing body. Nicholson served as vice-mayor following the resignation of Patricia Schuler on December 16, 2014 and was reappointed to the position on January 6, 2015. He was replaced by Sanger on January 3, 2017, but then appointed mayor on January 2, 2019.

Jacquelin Wells was the only incumbent to defeat her challenger, receiving nearly 60 percent of the vote for the at-large district. When it came to the appointment for mayor, the vote failed by a vote of 2-4. Weickum, meanwhile, was reappointed by a vote of 4-2.

Sanger was appointed vice-mayor with the same margin as Weickum. An attempt to appoint Garner failed by a vote of 3-3.

Voting in Secret

According to past minutes of the Rawlins City Council, the votes for mayor and vice-mayor were made public and recorded. On January 2, 2013 for example, Nicholson was the sole nay vote to the reappointment of Mayor Ken Klouda. During the most recent council meeting, however, it wasn’t known who voted yay or nay on the candidates.

Despite either roll call votes or online voting for other actions throughout the night, the appointment process was done through secret ballot. For each nomination, members of the governing body wrote their vote on a piece of paper, folded it and placed it in a bucket, and it was then tallied by the city clerk.

While there haven’t been any court cases in Wyoming regarding secret ballots, yet, other states have issued opinions on the matter according to Bruce Moats, a First Amendment attorney.

“Courts in other states have, logically, said that a governing body might as well vote in a closed room if it votes via secret ballot,” said Moats. “The people those folks represent deserve to know how someone votes. Otherwise, the people’s ability to judge the performance of their representative is undercut.”

Moats is currently litigating a case in Newcastle involving secret ballots. Following the resignation of former Representative Hans Hunt (R - Newcastle) from House District 2, the Niobrara, Goshen and Weston county commissioners used a secret ballot to appoint Hunt’s successor.

Indirect Democracy

Unlike other municipalities in Carbon County, Rawlins operates under the city manager form of government. Per Wyoming State Statute 15-4-201(a), the council selects a president (mayor) and vice-president (vice-mayor) from the governing body as leadership. Under Section 2.04.030 of Rawlins Municipal Code, the appointment of mayor and vice-mayor is held in the first meeting in January following an election.

The section also dictates how the process is to be conducted, either held by a motion or through a nomination and ballot process. The process on January 3 seemed to be a combination of both, with council members making a motion for appointment and then voting on the motion through a ballot process.

Because the mayor and vice-mayor are nominated by and appointed from the council, it underlies the importance of their constituents knowing how they voted according to Moats.

“The selection of the leaders of this representative body is an important decision, and the people have the right to know how each member voted,” said Moats.

Despite being unable to directly elect either the mayor or vice-mayor, Rawlins residents urged the council to consider new leadership during public comment.

“I feel that the current mayor has a vendetta against one of our current haulers and is conducting himself in a very unprofessional manner,” said Denise Ashline. “Mayor Weickum and Councilman Weisenburg were advised by the city attorney that if they were unable to set aside bias and make an impartial decision when it comes to the matter of that hauler, then they shouldn’t be voting on the matter.”

To Be Fair

Ashline’s comments refer to the September 20 meeting of the Rawlins City Council, when the governing body voted on a contract for waste hauling services for the City. While Councilmember Darril Garner recused himself due to a conflict of interest, it was asked by Councilmember Aaron Durst if any others needed to recuse themselves as well. Earlier in that meeting, a member of the public and employee of Dirty Boyz Sanitation had requested Councilmember Chris Weisenburg recuse himself from any discussion or actions regarding waste hauling services.

City Attorney Gwendolyn Wade told the governing body it was her legal opinion that if a council member had a personal conflict with a business, it was not appropriate for them to either discuss or vote on issues involving that business. Following Wade’s recommendation, Weisenburg left the room. When Weickum asked if he should step out as well, Wade told him he should if he believed he couldn’t be fair afterwich Weickum also left the room.

Since then, however, neither Weisenburg nor Weickum have recused themselves from discussions or actions regarding Dirty Boyz.

The next meeting of the Rawlins City Council will be at 7:30 p.m. on January 17 at Rawlins City Hall.