Rejected commission candidate addresses Monroe council

Monroe resident Ashley Sellers was back in council chambers recently, facing the three city councilmembers who denied her appointment to the salary commission.

Monroe Mayor Geoffrey Thomas recommended Sellers for appointment to the commission on Dec. 8, which was denied by councilmembers Kurt Goering, Kevin Hanford and Jim Kamp. Monroe city staff could not recall a time in recent history when a mayor's recommendation for appointment failed at confirmation. Councilmembers cited potential conflict of interest along with concerns about recent comments made by Sellers during a public hearing as their reasons for the denial.

Sellers served as Councilmember Kirk Scarboro's campaign treasurer in the recent election, which was the source of the conflict of interest concern. Since salary commissioners are tasked with deciding the salaries of Monroe's elected officials, the relationship raised a red flag for Goering.

City staff found no conflict in state or local law.-á

Hanford raised additional concerns related to comments Sellers made during a public hearing on the east Monroe rezone, when she stated she used Facebook to "stalkGÇ¥ councilmembers while conducting online research. Sellers later said she had simply been trying to inject some humor into the situation.

She addressed council during the time set aside for public comment on Dec. 15.

"Before last week, I'd get up here and tell you I feel like I know you, but after last week I feel like you don't know me,GÇ¥ Sellers said. "After I heard the results last week, I was embarrassed.GÇ¥

She zeroed in on the potential conflict of interest issue raised by Goering, which she said she felt crossed the line between professional statement and personal attack when it became clear to her that the council didn't conduct any such research with other salary commissioner candidates.

"I know that there's someone else on the salary commission that donated money to somebody's campaign that sits up here,GÇ¥ Sellers said. "So, if me being a treasurer is a conflict of interest, surely that is no different than somebody giving money to a campaign.GÇ¥

Sellers responded to several other comments made by councilmembers during the Dec. 8 discussion. Kamp had sided with Goering and Hanford, stating he wasn't comfortable with the appointment because she likely had "strong feelingsGÇ¥ about some of the councilmembers.-á

"Mr. Kamp, you presume I have strong feelings about people on this council, and I would say it's not fair to push that judgement on me. Yes, I have strong feelings about some of the things that you vote on,GÇ¥ Sellers said. "It doesn't mean that I don't respect you, it doesn't mean I don't respect your service and it doesn't mean that I am not somebody who can fairly look at a situation and make a proper decision.GÇ¥

Although she and Hanford had the opportunity to discuss the situation in person during an encounter at the store, she addressed his concerns about her comments at the public hearing. She told council when she said she had gone on Facebook to "stalk,GÇ¥ she was only trying to explain that she had used multiple resources to research the councilmembers. In addition to Facebook, Sellers said she used the city's website and various local media outlets.

She gave council an overview of her background, which includes more than 13 years of business experience, including management and contract negotiations. She grew up running a company, she said, and has been a business owner herself.

"I know what it means to work with people. I know what it means to separate yourself from something and have a clear head, which is something I've always tried to do in front of this council,GÇ¥ Sellers said.

During councilmember comments, Hanford spoke of his interaction with Sellers outside of council chambers, stating it was a productive conversation and they were able to work through the issue.

"She was just trying to inject some humor into the conversation, and I let her know that for those of us that have been around for a while, some of those subjects we find absolutely no humor in,GÇ¥ Hanford said. "I took it that way, and that was not how she was meaning to portray it, so it was a miscommunication.GÇ¥

He stated that if she were up for reappointment, he would be supportive.

"I informed her that I would be supporting her confirmation,GÇ¥ Hanford said.