Banks Mayor Marsha Kirk’s abrupt change to a process to fill a vacant city council seat in Banks has sparked controversy, leaving one applicant to wonder about the future of her own political career.
Two Banks citizens recently filed applications to fill former City Councilor Don Giannetti's empty city council seat, according to an email from Banks City Recorder Angie Lanter on July 3.
Both candidates, Megan Blake and April Cannon, had already sought appointment to a different council position in January of 2025.
The process used back in January was to conduct interviews with each candidate in front of the existing city council during a work session. The City Council then organized an informal vote to narrow the selections down to one candidate. Immediately following the work session, the candidate was then officially confirmed during the official city council meeting.
While this process was initially listed on the Banks City Council agenda for their monthly meeting scheduled for Tuesday, July 8, Mayor Kirk removed it from the agenda.
The Banks City Council released two different agendas for their July 8 meeting, issuing a revised version after the initial release.
The original agenda for the city council meeting was sent out in an email from Banks City Recorder and Assistant City Manager Angie Lanter the morning of Thursday, July 3.
Item #3 on the agenda, slated to be held during the work session, stated "Interview candidates for vacant City Council position CC2," followed by item #4 in the business meeting, "Shall the City Council make an appointment to fill vacant City Council Position CC2?"
Less than two hours later, Lanter sent out an amended agenda, which had two notable changes.
Item #3 was removed, and Item #4 now read "Shall the City Council approve the appointment of Megan Blake to fill vacant City Council position CC2?
a. Swearing in of City Councilor Megan Blake (Position CC2)."
"The mayor changed the process, and I was asked to amend the agenda," Lanter said in an email to the Banks Post.
The change caught Cannon by surprise. In an email to the Banks Post on July 3, Cannon said she'd only heard from City Manager Jolynn Becker that she'd been removed from consideration that day.
"I still plan on showing up on Tuesday in case there’s a chance that this doesn’t happen," she said.
Cannon emailed Kirk directly, urging her to reconsider the decision.
"I urge you to reconsider this course of action," she said. "I believe strongly in the importance of transparency, community engagement, and giving the public and council members the opportunity to hear from all candidates before such an important decision is made," Cannon said.
"I am not asking for a guarantee—only for the chance to be heard," Cannon wrote.
"I believe the council and the community deserve the opportunity to hear from both candidates before a decision is made. This process should reflect the values of fairness, inclusion, and civic engagement that make Banks such a special place to live," she said.
In an email to the city council, Kirk explained her choice to remove Cannon from the agenda and place Blake as the sole choice for an up-or-down vote by the council.
"We have talked to each of them at least once before, and it seems redundant to do it again," Kirk wrote, referring to the council's January work session.
At the time, City Councilor Jones was being interviewed for the same job and did not herself interview the other two candidates.
Kirk said she had spoken with the city's attorney, City Manager Jolynn Becker, and City Councilor Pete Edison in advance of her decision.
"I have decided that I will be choosing Megan Blake for the City Council Position 2 vacancy," she wrote.
"This decision is nothing new," she added. She noted several prior instances where mayors had chosen a candidate and brought them to the council for a final decision.
Giannetti, who resigned in April over what he described as personal, primarily work-related reasons, left a nearly full four-year term when he resigned. Whoever takes his seat will serve through Dec. 31, 2028.
His resignation came on the heels of a different resignation that saw a game of political musical chairs that originated during the Nov. 5, 2024 election, and one that has cast a long shadow to Tuesday's planned appointment vote.
Then-City Councilor Marsha Kirk ran for then-Mayor Stephanie Jones' seat atop the council during the election, defeating the incumbent Jones.
As a result, Kirk had to resign her city council position to be sworn in as mayor in January, and Jones was one of three people who sought to fill the vacant term, which will run through Dec. 31, 2026.
Joining her as applicants to the seat were Debra Berry, Megan Blake and April Cannon. Berry was a no-show, leaving Jones, Cannon and Blake.
After an interview process held during the city council work session on Jan. 14, councilors heard responses from the candidates on several questions.
Two rounds of informal voting took place, the first resulting in a two-way tie between Jones and Blake, leaving Cannon out of the running for the second round.
Jones prevailed in the second round 3-2 over Blake, and was confirmed officially during the following city council business meeting to the seat vacated by the councilor who unseated her in November's election.
When it comes to the exact process of selecting a candidate to fill a vacancy, the Banks City Code is not specific in stating what process is used.
Chapter VII, section 31 and 32 covers vacancies on the city council and how to fill them.
Kirk's assertion that selecting a candidate to be appointed or not appointed by the council is supported by a plain-language reading of the statute.
"A Mayor or City Councilor vacancy will be filled by appointment," section 32 begins. "A majority of the remaining City Council members shall be required to validate the appointment," it follows, going on to specify the length of the term and other details.
"My hope is that both candidates who have applied for the open position will be in attendance at tomorrow’s meeting," said Banks City Attorney Daniel Kearns of Reeve Kearns PC. "And that the City Council will do its job and select the best candidate for the position, as is its duty under the City Charter," he said.
In January, when Cannon, Blake and Jones all sought the empty seat, two rounds of voting took place during the work session, the first resulting in a two-way tie between Jones and Blake, leaving Cannon out of the running for the second round.
Jones prevailed in the second round, winning appointment to the seat vacated by the councilor who unseated her in November's election.
In a social media post made on a popular Banks-area group, an anonymous poster said the move by Kirk raised "concerns about transparency and due process."
Kirk defended her actions, pointing to several different processes by which a final applicant had been chosen before the council voted on an applicant in past years. She said the process of a full council interview before voting on one candidate during a business meeting was used in the last two vacancies.
"Our Banks city code is lame enough, it can be done either way," she said.
"Please feel free to email me at mkirk@cityofbanks.org with any questions, comments or complaints," she said.
About 50 comments in, an admin for the group said anonymous political posts would no longer be permitted and turned off commenting on the thread.
"We're going to implement a new policy for the board - no anonymous political posts," Eric White said. "Transparency in politics is crucial, and the opportunity for abuse, such as posts from political rivals, is far too easy via anonymous posts," he said.
White encouraged anyone who wished to continue the conversation to start again with their real name.
The Banks City Council will meet in council chambers and on Zoom Tuesday, July 8 for a work session beginning at 6 p.m. followed by a city council business meeting. See the agenda online for more information, including how to access the meeting via zoom and telephone. The city's council chambers are located at 13690 NW Main Street in Banks.
Banks Post intern Jordan Donegan contributed editing to this story.
