HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019 02-20 3-member Maplewood cuncil appoints 2 to fill vacancies MAPLEWOOD REVIEW
3-member Maplewood council
appoints 2 to fill vacancies
Submitted by admin on Wed, 02/20/2019 - 12:00am
screenshot After being interviewed by the three-member Maplewood City Council, longtime residents Sylvia Neblett
(pictured) and William Knutson were sworn in to fill two council vacancies on Feb. 11.
The Maplewood City Council appointed two new members at its Feb. 11 meeting.
William Knutson, 70, and Sylvia Neblett, 62, both decades-long Maplewood residents, were sworn in as
the newest members of the council. Each will serve two-year terms, then their seats will be up for grabs
during the 2020 election.
Neblett, a 20-year resident and charter school office manager, is also an education equity and civil rights
advocate, served on Maplewood’s use of force work group and at the time of her appointment was a
Police Advisory Commission member. Knutson has lived in Maplewood for 35 years, served on the city’s
emergency medical services task force and worked in consulting and health care management for nearly
50 years.
Before the meeting, the council was down to three members following the Jan. 1 departures of Mayor
Nora Slawik, who left to run the Metropolitan Council, and council member Tou Xiong, who left with two
years to go on his council term to be Minnesota House District 53A representative.
The three remaining members, Bryan Smith, Kathleen Juenemann and Marylee Abrams, who replaced
Slawik at mayor, chose who would join them on the council through what City Manager Melinda
Coleman called “an extensive application process.”
The city accepted applications through Jan. 30. The applicant list was pared down to 18 candidates, then
whittled down to four finalists who were interviewed by the council just before the Feb. 11 council
meeting.
A notable omission from the group of finalists was Nikki Villavicencio, the narrow loser of last
November’s hotly contested city council election, which took two recounts to determine a winner.
The final recount carried out Nov. 27 was won by incumbent council member Abrams. She edged out
Villavicencio by five votes. The final tally was 5,757 votes for Abrams, and 5,752 for Villavicencio.
Abrams went on to win a 2-1 council member vote to take the mayor’s seat for two years. In 2020, the
mayor’s seat will also be up for election.
Smith took a moment to acknowledge Villavicencio at the Feb. 11 meeting. “I am disappointed we were
not able to include Nikki Villavicencio in our interview process.”
Smith said there were plenty of things the council considered in appointing new members, but that
“understanding the perspective of the voters, the residents of Maplewood,” is the most important
factor. He said he rated Villvicanio as his top candidate because of her “tremendous amount of support
from the voters of Maplewood.”
Overall, Smith said he thinks the appointment process was transparent and fair, but that he is
disappointed Villavicencio was not included with the finalists.
In a brief reaction for the Review, Villavicencio said she’s “not going quietly.”
–Solomon Gustavo can be reached at sgustavo@lillienews.com or 651-748-7815