When the saga selecting Melissa Fabian to replace Jim Haney as Ward 2 council member began, Melissa Fabian applied at the urging of her children. The entire family came to the meeting Dec. 5 so her children could see government at work.
Of the 14 candidates for the seat, Fabian is the only one who attended all the meetings. Her effort, and the efforts of her supporters, paid off Monday night.
After three finalists answered six questions and gave a two-minute summary of why they would be the best candidate, the results came back with four votes for Fabian, three votes for Daniel Haglund, zero votes for Joel Bakken. Haney abstained.
Council members voting for Fabian were the same four who initially voted for her: Brenda Elmer, Steve Gehrtz, Mike Hulett and Nancy Otto. Haglund was supported by Mari Dailey, Heidi Durand and Chuck Hendrickson.
City attorney John Shockley initially gave the council several options for the selection process. At the Dec. 5 meeting, Hulett said it would draw out the process to delay the selection. After discussion, the council agreed and Fabian was selected.
Candidates expected the choices would be narrowed Dec. 5 and a vote taken Dec. 12. Mayor Del Rae Williams was uncomfortable with the shortened process Dec. 5 and said before the Dec. 12 meeting she would veto Fabian’s selection based solely on the process. Williams said the 14 candidates, an unprecedented and unexpected number, needed more attention.
That opened the process again. The three finalists interviewed Monday night were selected by the council from written applications.
Durand said a well-researched, legal process for selecting candidates in the future should be developed so that the public knows what will happen.
Retiring council member Nancy Otto presided at the meeting. Williams was on a long-planned vacation.
Otto praised all three candidates. “Moorhead is a winner for having every one of you here,” she said.
The council passed a resolution confirming Fabian’s two-year appointment. She will be sworn-in at the first 2017 meeting. Otto encouraged her to bring her family.
With Otto and Hulett retiring, Fabian will join Sara Watson Curry and Joel Paulsen, elected Nov. 8. Durand and Fabian are the Ward 2 team.
Fabian is looking forward and not backward as she joins the council. She said the last few weeks have been difficult for her and her family.
She and her husband, Matthew, have three children, Lily, Samuel and Paul. They lived in a number of cities while he completed medical school and residencies. That background, she said, will help her work harder for the city she loves.
Among her top issues are constructing underpasses, downtown development, the river corridor, flood diversion and interactions with the state. She appreciates the First Avenue North development, grants for bike trails and other recent actions.
Fabian wants to see a leveling of the playing field with border cities. “I tend to bring people together,” she said, adding that she is a good listener.
At the end of the meeting, as media crowded around to ask her questions, Fabian said she was excited to begin work. After a few questions, she scooted into the executive session where discussion about the new city manager’s appointment was on the agenda.
