Minnetonka council picks 9 finalists for vacant seat, sparks ill will

A former Minnetonka mayor and two former City Council members say they are disappointed and perplexed about being eliminated from the list of candidates seeking appointment to an open council seat.

After receiving 37 applications for the job, Minnetonka council members on Monday narrowed the list to nine for further interviews.

Those cut included former Mayor Karen Anderson and former Council Members Al Thomas and Jane Gordon.

"I am very disappointed about ... not being included in the finalist list," said Anderson, who served 20 years on the council, 12 as mayor. "But I have a very full life, and I have been around politics long enough to know that the decision last night had very little to with me and a whole lot to do with politics."

Gordon watched the council deliberations on television and said the appointment process lacked structure. "They got all of these people through this application process and really didn't have any set way to determine who they were going to interview," Gordon said. "It seemed very unprofessional."

Besides 12 years of past service on the council, Gordon said, "I happen to have a law degree. I have a B.A. in urban planning. I was perplexed that I was not in the interview group based on my experience, my education, my work in the community and my work outside of politics."

Thomas, who lost the 4th Ward Council seat in the November elections by just 13 votes, said those on the list to be interviewed "have no elected experience."

The seat opened when Mayor Jan Callison was elected to the Hennepin County Board and at-large Council Member Terry Schnei- der was appointed to fill the year remaining on her term.

The council discussed holding a special election to fill the year remaining on Schneider's term, but decided to appoint someone quickly to have a full council in place.

Council members reviewed the applications over the weekend and used their own individual criteria to rank each person on a 1-to-5 scale based on suitability for office, Schneider said. The combined rankings yielded a list of nine people -- six men and three women -- who will be interviewed at 6:30 p.m. on Monday and Jan. 21, if a second session is necessary.

Of the winnowing process, Schneider said, "It was a little loose, but I am not sure it was all that bad. When you get to the final applications, we will have much more thorough discussions." The remaining applicants will be asked to answer a few questions in writing, and then interviews will be unstructured, led by questions from council members, Schnei- der said.

The finalists are Craig Acomb, Derrick Agate Sr., Paul Ansolabahere, Joseph Bodell, Bonnie Burton, Tim Goodyear, Amber Greves, Denny Lambert and Anne Malm Hossfeld. Greves, a member of the Minnetonka Park Board, received the highest ranking -- a five from each council member for a score of 30.