Tribune staff reports

The doors to the Albert Lea City Council chambers were locked until precisely 5:30 p.m. for an emergency meeting held by the council. Once unlocked, the room filled with a few community members, but there were mostly reporters touting cameras and notepads eagerly anticipating the vote which was to take place.

The emergency meeting called Thursday by Councilors Jeff Fjelstad, Mary Kron and George Marin began with a statement by City Attorney Steve Schwab who informed the public that any actions by the council would be open to the public through his interpretation of a Minnesota statute.

Fjelstad immediately motioned for the council to hold a vote of no confidence for Mayor Jean Eaton, who was charged Wednesday with one count of felony theft for allegedly defrauding a retail clothing store through a pricetag-switch scam. Fjelstad requested council members to vote &uot;aye&uot; if they had no confidence the mayor was able to do her job, or &uot;nay&uot; if they believed she should remain in office.

Before the council agreed to vote, some members questioned its value. &uot;What will it accomplish whether it succeeds or fails?&uot; asked Councilor Warren Amundson.

City Manager Victoria Simonsen was sure to mention that a vote, if positive or negative, would have no affect on Eaton’s position as mayor.

&uot;There are four ways a vacancy can be created,&uot; she said. &uot;By resignation, failure to qualify for office by refusing or neglecting to take oath, conviction of a felony or absence of duty for 90 days.&uot;

If for some reason, a vacancy occurs before the mayor is sworn in Monday, a mayor pro tem would step into the position. If the vacancy occurs after the January meeting, a special election would be held to replace the position.

Additional statements were made by council members before the vote was held.

&uot;When this nightmare started and this media circus started, as a council we weren’t going to make any statements unless we did it as a council,&uot; said Councilor Randy Erdman. &uot;I was not elected to be judge and jury. I think we should let the legal process handle this one. If Mayor Eaton is guilty of these charges, she will have to answer to them,&uot; he said.

&uot;We will not accomplish anything from this vote except create greater ugliness for the community. I agree that it’s a little selfish for the mayor to continue holding office,&uot; said Councilor Warren Amundson.

Marin said the issue has affected everyone in the community in some way. &uot;If you throw a stone into a pond, the ripple affect reaches the shoreline. We are at a crossroads,&uot; he said.

He addressed Eaton directly: &uot;The situations that have transpired, your honor, affect all of us.&uot;

He asked her to decline being sworn in.

Eaton also had a personal statement to make. &uot;An accusation does not equate to guilt,&uot; she said. Eaton has not received written confirmation of her charges and said she is entitled to her day in court.

The vote did not pass. Three council members, Marin, Fjelstad and Kron answered &uot;aye.&uot; A quorum of four votes was needed to pass the motion.

Fjelstad, noticeably disappointed, explained he had made the motion because he felt there had been no communication during the time Eaton had been under scrutiny.

&uot;We have 18,000 people here that I feel are being held hostage by your situation,&uot; he said.

Fjelstad again asked Eaton to resign, but she declined.

Before the emergency meeting was adjourned, council members elected Brooks to fill the mayor’s position if a vacancy were to occur between now and Monday.