The County Commissioner meeting starts in just a few minutes. The Commissioners will be voting on a replacement for District 4 WCSB rep Brad Fiskus, who has resigned.
Here is some background information. williamsonherald.com/communities/di…
Chairman Little is absent. Mayor Anderson is going to chair the meeting as a non-voting chair. 
The first item on the agenda is an open comment. There are 9 people up for public comment. The first up is Eliot Franklin who applied for the D4 WCSB seat.
Says he moved to WC for the schools. Immediately knew he was interested when Fiscus resigned. Wanted to introduce himself, and asks for vote to be tabled to allow for more community input. Says he doesn't have political influence.
(Side note: We have found covid denying posts on Mr. Franklin's public social media.)
Next up: Susan Masie (who we recognize from Moms for Liberty). She's upset many CC didn't open her email, that more time wasn't given, that the meeting is during fall break, etc. Wants more input on school board position. Implies Josh Brown has a conflict of interest.
Masie wants to know what is the reason for not delaying the vote to allow community import. Crowd claps and hoots.
Now Shannon Cranfort - wants transparency in the process and doesn't think a lobbyist for Pfizer has her child's best interest. Is scared of "mass vaccinations of kids." Says it's too soon to tell.
Julie Neimans - says leadership is sometimes very difficult. Urges them to reconsider the vote on D4 WCSB member to allow constituents to be heard and to allow transparency. Says there is no rush.
Nick Schreiber (Another frequent flyer) - Says he doesn't know what he's going to do with three minutes. Says this is a "political back door deal" (crowd claps). Says "we finally got rid of one with so much conflict of interest" and you want to put another one in.
Jeff Price - two kids (Summit & Heritage). We are here for our kid's future. Rushing this stinks politically. Get parents involved. "Too much stink going on here." "Sick and tired of government & politicians thinking it's their kids."
"We got rid of Brad, thank god, and his wife..bye, and now you want another one?" He really thinks it stinks.
Carolyn Brown - lives in D4. Thanks, CC for the job they do and for making us aware of the need to be involved. Wants to know the process. Says she was too trusting. Thought politicians had to be lawyers. Thought there would be dialogue with board.
Says she just found out about the 10 applicants 2 days ago. Wants to know why Brown is on a DEI committee?
Marissa Dip Lock (from Moms for Liberty) - No need to rush the vote. Asks them to abstain or delay vote. If you don't do that, you don't care about the community. Compliments Mr. Franklin for coming and talking. Wants to hear more from Mr. Franklin and the other applicants.
Finally Speaker - Robin Steenman. 🙄Has a petition asking them to delay the vote. Implies Josh Brown supporters are in the CC and not in the public audience. Says proper vetting would sink their favored choice. Claims Josh Brown is a lobbyist, his wife helped some CC get elected
Says none of those are reasons to put him on board. Conservatives are waking up. Groups like MFL have unmasked the school board. If you are not listening, we will change who is listening in 2022. Crowd stands and claps.
Now they are going over the budget report. I'm going to focus my tweets on the WCSB replacement.
Jason Golden is up on the agenda. He thanks board members Nancy Garrett, Jay Galbreath, and Sheila Clevland for being in the audience.
Hospital report now. Basically, things were really, really bad. They are getting a bit better. Currently, Pfizer is the only vaccine approved for supplemental vaccinations. (OMG THESE PEOPLE ARE HECKLING THE HOSPITAL REPORT.)
Mayor Anderson asked Mr. Mosely to do research on the law on replacing School board vacancies. Law says it's to be filled by County Commission, to serve until the next election. CC rules say position is to be filled at the next scheduled meeting.
He's fast-talking lawyer-speak, but I think he's just saying, this is the process & timing. Deal with it. (Rumblings in the crowd. They don't like it.)
Barb Sturgeon asks if she can make a motion to delay. The lawyer basically says no. That would be a violation of the law if you didn't fill the seat tonight. Crowd is yelling and unruly.
Story nominates Josh Brown. Jones seconds.
Mayor Anderson asks if there are other nominations. Sturgeon asks that someone seconds her motion to nominate Bridgett Parks. Lawyer says you don't need a second.
Beth Lothers nominates Seth Yu. Jennifer Mason asks to give Commissioner Story a chance to explain the process of making their choice.
Commissioner Story: The process started about two months ago. Over a dozen individuals expressed interest. We spent hours reviewing and interviewing applicants. Says he always wants to advocate for families. Number one goal was to identify candidates who would empower parents.
Story says one candidate constantly showed understanding of the challenges and parents concerned that aligned with the majority of parents. (Crowd yelling disagreement).
References Brown's calm collected manor and lifelong leadership. (More yelling from the crowd.)
Sturgeon reads a letter from Bridgett: Letter says Bridget is a mom of 2nd grader and upcoming Kindergartner. Says she spoke often with Story & Lawrence. Trusts their decision but understands there are concerns about the choice.
If it's in the best interest of the community, she agrees to be nominated.
Brian Beathard points out that this appointee will only serve until next election and then choice will be made by voters.
Beth Lothers says it's about trying to bring people together in a community. Thanks to those brave souls putting their names in. Looking at all the info on applicants, one candidate represents neutrality to her. It's nonpartisan only for a few months.
What if Mr. Yu could bring a perspective that we haven't seen before.
Sturgeon questioning lawyer saying that the law said "quarterly meetings." The lawyer said that was because at the time of the law, they had quarterly meetings and now they have monthly, so it means the next meeting. Crowd whining again.
Now Josh Brown reading a statement. - Thanks for the opportunity. Thanks to his family in the audience & to those who have written in for support. 3 kids in WCS, himself a product of WCS. Invested and cares deeply about the community.
Says almost none of the claims about him are factual. (More yells from the crowd.) Says he would recuse himself if there were a conflict of interest, but won't apologize for who he works for.
Three nominations. Roll call vote for all three. If a majority is received on the first ballot, that will be the winner. Majority is 13 as defined by the rules.
Now there is a question about whether they need a signed statement from those not there as acceptance. Lawyer says the commission could accept the application as acceptance.
Lothers asks if applicants understood that. Would think that the application would signal intent to accept.
First up, they will be voting for Brown. 13 votes are needed to win. They are voting individually but it's reached 13 already.
16 for Brown, 1 for Parks, 3 for Seth Yu, and 1 abstention (which was Dana Austabrooks, I assume because of her position with the school system). Josh Brown will be sworn in after a five-minute break.
The one vote for Bridget Parks was by Barb Sturgeon. Hudson, Mason and Lothers voted for Seth Yu.
Josh Brown has been sworn in as the D4 WCSB school board member. Looks like the crowd didn't want to stick around for that.
Now they are moving on to regular County Commissioner items, so I'm going to sign off since the WCSB portion is finished.
Please forgive my misspelling here. It's Dana Ausbrooks.
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