Former council member appointed to fill vacant seat in Palmer

What you need to know:

• Former Palmer City Council member Ken Erbey was appointed to the council Tuesday by Mayor Steve Carrington to replace former Council member Richard Best, who resigned amid controversy last month. Erbey previously served from 2003 to 2015.
• Erbey will serve until the city’s general election in October and has said he does not plan to run for the seat.
• His appointment comes amid ongoing tensions, including fallout from the hiring and resignation of former City Manager Stephen Jellie and a special election to consider the possible recall of Carrington.

PALMER – Former Palmer City Council member Ken Erbey officially rejoined the council this week, filling a seat vacated last month by the sudden resignation of Council member Richard Best.

Mayor Steve Carrington appointed Erbey to the seat during a regular council meeting Tuesday. Erbey previously served on the council from 2003 to 2015. Palmer city code does not require public interviews for council appointments following a resignation.

Erbey was sworn in at the start of Tuesday's meeting. He replaces Best, who resigned early last month amid turmoil over possible city sanctions against him.

Erbey will hold the position until the city's October general election, when the seat will appear on the regular ballot, according to city code. He does not plan to run to keep the seat because he spends winters out of state with his wife, he said in his application.

“Thank you for the opportunity to represent the city. You know, the more things change, the more they stay the same,” Erbey said during the meeting. “I learned with my previous experience, we can and we will disagree with each other, but that’s why there’s seven of us. I also learned that we can work through these disagreements and come up with solutions and results that are best for the city and the citizens, and that’s hopefully why I’m here.”

Erbey joins the council against a backdrop of ongoing conflict over the construction of a new library and the hiring and resignation of former Palmer City Manager Stephen Jellie last year.

His appointment comes less than a month before a May 20 special election to determine whether to recall Carrington for overstepping his authority by hiring an outside attorney to draft a separation agreement for Jellie. Carrington contends the agreement was necessary because of "legal uncertainties," according to his statement included on the special election ballot.

Jellie resigned Oct. 9 after 53 days on the job and received a $75,000 payout as part of the separation agreement. His resignation followed public outcry over his personnel practices and rumors of planned cuts to the city's public safety budget. It was his third such exit from a city in less than two years, with previous payouts totaling $200,000.

Seven Palmer residents applied for the position during a 14-day application period this month, including former council members Mike Chmielewski and Thomas Ojala IV and former council candidate Aundra Omega Jackson.

Carrington chose Erbey because of his previous experience on the council and because his application emphasized the need for council members to find common ground and disagree respectfully, according to a statement from the mayor.

Erbey sees Palmer's biggest challenges as including the need to boost downtown businesses by reducing vagrancy and adding parking options, including a garage, according to his application. He also said he supports the library as a way for residents to have positive interactions with the city.

The council seat will next appear on the city's October ballot. The winner will serve a one-year term to complete the remainder of the current term vacated by Best. The seat will be up for election again in 2026 for a full three-year term.

Two additional council seats, currently held by members Carolina Graver and Josh Tudor, will also appear on the October ballot for full three-year terms. The mayor's seat will also be on the ballot.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com

This story was updated April 23 to clarify that the mayor's seat will also appear on ballots in October.