Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/121369
Sarasota News Leader April 12, 2013 Page 33 mission as soon as released by his doctor. The According to Robinson's research, the city only difficulty I noticed was his speech which can't do much. "Vacancy in office occurs with the death or resignation of a Commissioner," was slow and careful." he concluded. Commissioners can be removed When might Jones be able to return to the by the governor or the state ethics commisboard? No one can say for sure. sion, or they can be recalled by the public. "A City Commission has no authority to remove "The consensus is that he needs to focus on a City Commissioner," Robinson wrote. his recovery right now," Tebrugge tells The Sarasota News Leader. "The only other thing Yates says she wishes the commission had I would add is that I'm very encouraged by addressed the memo Monday, so the public his progress. I've had a fair amount of contact could be informed about the situation. "I'm with Tom over the last month, and I'm very doing my job as far as being a commissioner being responsive to the community," she adds. encouraged." "And I'm putting it on an agenda to discuss Tebrugge adds Jones will return as soon as his it with my commission because I can't talk doctors give him the O.K. about it outside of a meeting." In the meantime, Yates says, she gets asked all the time about the five-person commission having only four members, and what the plan is should Jones' seat remain vacant. She tells the News Leader she asked Robinson to research the charter to reassure the public, not to float the possibility of replacing Jones. "I think the impression was that this particular item was about removing Commissioner Jones," she says. That impression was wrong. "The situation with Commissioner Jones brought to the surface these things that are kind of rare. And that situation actually brought up a very valid question of the citizens: 'Well, what do we do?'" Right after the meeting began Monday, Blucher asked the commission to remove Yates' item, along with one other task on the agenda. He didn't discuss the issue much, and he did not respond to a News Leader call for comment. "I just don't even feel they should be on the agenda," he said Monday of the items. Commissioner Rhonda DiFranco agreed about the discussion on Jones: "It shouldn't even be up there." She, Blucher and Commissioner Cheryl Cook quickly voted to block the item. Yates tells the News Leader the public won't be satisfied with that: "The commission delaying the conversation doesn't take the conversation out of the public." %