King quits council, stays on as JP

— A long-time Garfield City Council member resigned one of two political seats for which he took the oath of office. His resignation was accepted by fellow council members Thursday, Feb. 3.

Dale King was sworn in Jan. 1 as justice of the peace for District 1 and then on Jan. 11 as city councilman, a position to which he was re-elected with no opposition. He administered the oath of office to Mayor Laura Hamilton in his roleas JP prior to her administering the oath of office to the council members in her role as mayor.

Once he understood that the law prohibited him from holding both the council seat and the Justice of the Peace seat to which he was recently elected, according to Garfield city attorney Joanne McCracken, he resigned the city position.

Efforts to reach King have been unsuccessful.

Although the regularly council meeting was set for Tuesday, it was rescheduled to Thursday because of inclement weather.

Mayor Hamilton said applicants for the council seat may call City Hall at 359-3073 to request a spot on the agenda for the March meeting. She said applicants will be interviewed by the council. The meeting will be Tuesday, March 8.

“They could submit something in writing if they wanted,” Hamilton said. Anyone who lives within the city limits and is a registered voter is eligible for a seat on the fiveperson council. There are no wards for the Garfield Council.

“Dale didn’t want to do anything that would put the city or the county in a bad light,” Hamilton said, referring to King’s resignation.

“We wanted to get it in the minutes.”

News, Pages 1 on 02/09/2011