AUBURN — Councilors plan to move quickly to fill the second at-large City Council seat, advertising for someone to replace Eric Samson at their Oct. 3 meeting.
Mayor Dick Gleason declared Samson’s seat vacant Monday night at the end of the regular council meeting. It was the third consecutive meeting Samson missed.
“And according to the city charter, that means his seat his vacant,” Gleason said.
Samson, a police officer with the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Department, is attending the Maine Criminal Justice Academy in Vassalboro through Dec. 16.
Samson notified city councilors and Gleason about the change in an Aug. 5 letter and asked for a leave of absence, excusing him from the council’s remaining meetings.
Gleason said the city’s charter lets councilors miss three meetings in a row before they are expected to give up their seats. Councilors have only five meetings scheduled between now and the Nov. 8 vote.
The charter also lets the council appoint a volunteer to fill a vacant council seat if a councilor resigns less than six months before the term is scheduled to end.
Councilors directed City Clerk Roberta Fogg to begin accepting applications for the at-large seat Tuesday morning. Applicants have until Sept. 27 to submit an application and their qualifications for the seat.
Councilors did add one caveat: They will limit applicants to people not seeking a seat in November’s municipal election.
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