Who will replace Kevin Fuller?

In choosing a successor for Kevin Fuller, who resigned from the City Council last week, Mayor Art Ward said he won't nominate any of the candidates who are eyeing a council run in the 1st District. Ward said it wouldn't be fair to pick one candidate out of the field and give him an advantage over the rest. He said that he instead wants to pick someone who won't try to hang on to the seat in November general election. Ward said he wants someone who knows how city government operates and is up on the issues facing the city so that he or she can hit the ground running and get something accomplished. Ward did not mention any names. He didn't say it, but he's likely to pick a woman since the rest of the council is all male. It's a pretty safe bet, too, that whoever Ward selects will be somebody he knows and trusts. Whether the Republican-controlled council will back the mayor's choice remains uncertain. There is an argument floating around that if the three GOP councilors who oppose selling Memorial Boulevard School simply refuse to vote for anyone Ward picks, they will have effectively made it impossible to gain a majority vote to unload the historic building until after Election Day. If the empty slot isn't filled, the council would split 3-3 on the issue. But it's not clear the GOP critics of selling the building would be willing to take such a tough stance to ensure their side prevails.
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