Time for Council to push Ctrl-Alt-Delete

When it comes to the efforts to put Carol White on the Blytheville City Council, it's time for all involved to push Ctrl-Alt-Delete.

White, of course, is the Blytheville/Minnesota resident who was recently appointed to fill the term of James Sanders, who resigned from the Council after being appointed Mississippi County Sheriff. White has been embattled in controversy since the night she was appointed in a 3-2 vote of the Council. From being labeled a "troublemaker" the night of her appointment by one city councilwoman, to the revelation that she never got local car tags and failed to register to vote until after her appointment, it's pretty clear that this was not a selection that was meant to be.

When your computer goes haywire, locks up, or it becomes clear that it's just not working, it's time to reboot. You hold down the Ctrl-Alt-Delete keys, shut down, and start over. And that's what the City Council needs to do.

Mayor Barrett Harrison took a step in that direction Friday, when he declared that since White had not been a legal candidate, that her appointment was null and void, and the seat was vacant. City Council members should follow suit, and support the mayor. Likewise, White has a chance to show her commitment to community by quietly accepting the decision and stepping away, at least for now.

There should be no shame for those who initially supported White. She had a resume that included an assortment of public service activities, and on paper, she seemed well-qualified. Could the three City Council members who voted in favor of her appointment have known she was not even a registered voter in Arkansas? Probably not.

That said, there have been plenty of "d'oh" moments to go around among City Council members through this entire ordeal. From Councilman Mylas Jeffers' insistence that the nominee be a "person of color," to the mayor's failure to properly vet the applicants to ensure their legal qualifications, to Councilwoman Connealy's "troublemaker" barb, there has been a clear shortage of leadership from our city elders these past few weeks. These aren't the acts of community statesmen, loyally serving their constituents. They are the acts of lawmakers bent on their own petty political self-interest.

And any move by White or her backers (on the Council and off) to prolong this mess would only be more of the same.

In short, it's a mess that needs to end. It's time to reboot.

If you look around Blytheville, there are plenty of worthwhile things for our City Council to worry about. We've got police and fire departments to run. We've got streets to repair. We've got a recycling program to kick off. We've got ice storm reimbursements to track down. We've got parks that need to be rejuvenated. We've got businesses and citizens reeling from the recession that need attention. We've got visitors coming to town for car shows and baseball tournaments. We have a need to remain vigilant in our economic development efforts.

We simply don't have time to spend weeks slogging it out over a council seat. Our city has spent far too much time mired in the muck through the years. We need to be moving forward, and political fights like this can only hold us back.

Besides that, there's nothing stopping Carol White from reapplying for the still-vacant seat. Or, she can get on the City Council the old fashioned way, and run when the seat comes open for election. Perhaps that would be best — let the people of Ward 1 decide, rather the whims of five people, four of whom don't even live in that ward.

Either way, at the present, it's time for this community escapade to end. With blame to be shared by pretty much every player involved, all we can do is wipe the slate clean and start over.

Ctrl-Alt-Delete.