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Pawnee City Mayor resigns

By John Nixon

11/14/2019

(KLZA)-- The Pawnee City Council approved the appointment of Vickie Zelenka to fill the vacant City Council seat Monday night. Following the appointment, Mayor Deb Klein resigned.

It was determined following the previous Council meeting that a secret vote on the Mayors appointment was not required, and she re-submitted the name of Donnie Fisher for the seat becoming open due to the resignation of Council Person Sandi Corbitt-Sears.

Fishers appointment was voted down 2-1 in a secret ballot previously. Monday night no one made a motion to approve the appointment.

Mayor Klein then submitted the name of Bruce Haughton for the open Council seat. Councilman Charlie Hatfield's motion to approve Haughton for the seat died for a lack of a second.

Following some give and take discussions between the Mayor and Council members John Dahlgren and Ric Helms she submitted the name of a third applicant for the open Council seat and Vickie Zelenka was approved on a 2-1 vote with Councilman Hatfield casting a nay vote.

Zelenka was called and asked to come to the meeting and be sworn in. At this point Mayor Klein submitted her letter of resignation.

Following the Mayors resignation, Council President Charlie Hatfield stepped in to run the meeting. Hatfield will now decide if he wants to take over as Mayor or remain on the Council.

Hatfield previously served as Mayor when Deb Klein resigned as Mayor of Pawnee City due to health issues.

In her letter of resignation, Klein called it was an honor and privilege to serve the people of Pawnee City, saying she ran for Mayor to hopefully help move Pawnee City forward, but noted that, “unfortunately, as a Board, we cannot seem to settle on anything.”

She went on to say she thought the Council would pull together and work together for the betterment of the City and its' citizens, but unfortunately, I don't feel this is true.

Klein said “if we can't work together as a unit, we will never accomplish anything.”

The Council seat Zelenka is taking is up for election next year and she would have to seek election to the seat in the May, 2020 primary.

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