Appointed City Clerk Proposed

Proposition E on the Nov. 5 ballot here would make the position of city clerk, which is now an elective post, an appointed one.

The post has been elective since 1980 when, acting on a citizen’s request, the City Council put a measure on the ballot to establish the position of an elected city clerk and it passed. Before that time, the city administrator served as clerk.

The proposal to change the system this year came from the council after both elected clerks resigned before finishing their terms.

In a statement on the ballot, Lawndale Mayor Sarann Kruse said the post should be appointed because it is a specialized administrative position requiring training. The only requirement to fill the office as an elected official is registration as a voter in the city, she noted.

Arguing the other side, Mayor Pro Tem Harold E. Hofmann said citizens should not lose the right to vote for the office. He blamed low salaries for the resignations of the two elected clerks. The post pays $750 a month.

Currently serving as clerk is Marsha Schutte, who was appointed June 17, 1985, after Joyce South resigned.