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<br />Councilmember Burg explained there has been many commission members that have run for City Council and <br />none have been removed from their position. <br /> <br />Mayor Johnson wanted to free up Mr. McPherson to run for the Council seat and was not opposed to a <br />reappointment after the election cycle. <br /> <br />Councilmember Burg did not believe Mr. McPherson would have any problem serving as a Planning <br />Commissioner during his campaign. She believed Mr. McPherson truly cared about the City. <br /> <br />Mayor Johnson did not believe this was a reflection of Mr. McPherson’s work in the past. She was in favor of <br />seeing him step down for the next two months until the election was concluded. <br /> <br />Lotter interjected that Mayor Johnson did not want to see any potential conflict within the election. He <br />understood a past candidate had spoken poorly of the City, its staff and the budget. He described how difficult <br />Commissioner McPherson had been on staff when the new water treatment plant had been discussed by the <br />Planning Commission. For this reason, a separation from duties may be beneficial. <br /> <br />Mayor Johnson recommended the Council take action now and allow for a reappointment if he did not have a <br />successful campaign. <br /> <br />Councilmember Strub did not support this effort. He suggested commissioner expectations be set going <br />forward. He believed commissioners should not have a special set of expectations from the City compared to <br />other candidates. <br /> <br />Mayor Johnson believed that his behavior and treatment of staff warrants his stepping down from the Planning <br />Commission while pursuing a Council seat. <br /> <br />Councilmember Burg stated in the past commissioners were given a letter in order to make them cognizant of <br />the City’s behavioral expectations. She understood this issue had to be focused on. <br /> <br />Mayor Johnson questioned how the Council would look if Commissioner McPherson were to step out of line <br />between now and November. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jacobsen reiterated that other Commission members have run for Council seats and have not <br />been required to step down from their position. He feared how the Council would be perceived if it required <br />Commission McPherson to step down, when this has not been required in the past. He stated the timing of this <br />matter would be subject to question. <br /> <br />Councilmember Burg believed it was too late for the Council to take action at this time. <br /> <br />Mayor Johnson suggested that the Council be proactive and not reactive with this matter. <br /> <br />Councilmember Strub supported the Mayor’s spirit but did not believe the Council could take action against <br />Commissioner McPherson at this time. <br /> <br />Councilmember Jacobsen questioned if there was a middle ground on this issue and wondered if <br />Commissioner McPherson would voluntarily step down. <br />