BROOKINGS Come April 8, voters in Brookings will have three candidates to choose from to fill two City Council seats along with a decision to make regarding updates to the City Charter.
Al Austreim, Bonny Specker and Holly Tilton Byrne have filed for the two open City Council seats, whose terms run for three years. Specker and Tilton Byrne are the incumbents, while Austreim previously campaigned for a seat, but drew the short straw against Nick Wendell and Wayne Avery in the April 2024 election.
The deadline for candidate petitions was Feb. 28 at 5 p.m.
Voters will also decide if the City Charter best described as Brookings equivalent to the U.S. Constitution needs changes. An 11-member commission comprised of residents has made nine recommendations for amendments and updates, all procedural in nature. Some of the recommendations include:
- Clarification of the city clerk and city attorney appointment procedure
- Improved governmental accountability through updates to investigation procedures and the availability of public records
- Establish a decennial charter review process while providing flexibility for more frequent charter updates
The City Charter was adopted in 2002 and was last amended in 2006, according to information from the city.
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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