Council Appoints Colin Osborn to Vacancy in Ward 2

The City Council has voted to appoint former Council member Colin Osborn to fill the Council vacancy in Ward 2.

Ald Jerrell Hargraves had represented the seat until he passed away recently.

Council Republicans had introduced a resolution that would have appointed Dr Valerie Ruby Ingram to the seat, representing mainly the East Side. However, when the resolution came up on the agenda Ald Dottie DiLernia (R-1) said that she had asked that the resolution be pulled from consideration. It was not immediately clear why.

But Council President Pro-Tempore Francisco Santiago (D-5) said that it was still on the agenda because the agenda had not been amended.

The Council then took up the resolution and Council Democrats proposed an amendment to change the resolution to appoint Osborn.

In introducing the amendment, Ald Luz Ortiz-Luna (D-4) said that it was important that the seat, that has been vacant for more than 60 days, be filled so that the people of Ward 2 can have full representation.

Council Republicans argued that the seat should be filled by someone caucusing with the Council Republicans, based on Hargraves having been elected as a Republican.

But in a reversal of the argument that Council Republicans have been making that their caucus represents all party affiliations, Democrats argued that Hargraves was registered to vote as an Unaffiliated voter and could be replaced by Osborn, also an Unaffiliated voter.

Democrats also pointed out that, when newly elected State Rep Manny Sanchez (D-24), a Democrat, left the Council in 2021 to take office in the state legislature, then-majority Council Republicans blocked the appointment of the Democrats’ choice to succeed Sanchez – who was Veronica T DeLandro. Republicans, instead, chose a Republican loyalist who was registered to vote as a Democrat.

The final vote to appoint Osborn was on a nearly party-line vote.

Ironically, it was acting Town Clerk DeLandro who performed the official swearing-in for Osborn for the remainder of the term of office.