Pottsville Council members voted Thursday afternoon to appoint Mark Atkinson as the city’s next Mayor.
The vote was 3-0, with Atkinson abstaining.
In the last week, it was revealed Thursday that one other applicant had submitted interest in the position. That was Brian Reno, a former Pottsville police officer, who is now a police officer in Frackville.
Reno received no nominations for Mayor when the time for nominations was opened.
A swearing-in ceremony for Atkinson is scheduled to be performed prior to Monday’s City Council meeting at 6 p.m.
During Thursday afternoon’s brief Special Meeting of Council, Atkinson took a moment to address “the elephant in the room,” as he called it.
That elephant was the controversy surrounding his appointment.
Last Tuesday, the City sent out a press release – which was also posted to Pottsville’s Facebook page – announcing that a swearing-in ceremony would be held for Atkinson.
The problem with that was the arrival at that conclusion was done without a public meeting, so questions were asked as to how Council members decided on Atkinson to be the next Mayor of Pottsville.
A petition for an emergency injunction was filed at Schuylkill County Courthouse last Wednesday afternoon – the day of the initial scheduled swearing-in ceremony – to halt the proceedings based on a potential Pennsylvania Sunshine Act violation.
Schuylkill County Judge Christina Hale granted that motion for an injunction, forcing Pottsville to cancel the special meeting advertised for last Wednesday.
At a court hearing on Wednesday morning, Nov. 6, Hale dismissed the lawsuit – filed by Bobby Weaver Jr. – on the grounds that the wrong party or parties were named in it. Rather than naming individual council members as defendants, Weaver named the City of Pottsville as a defendant.
Earlier today, Atkinson took time to address that situation and attempt to set the record straight as to how he became the presumptive nominee to be Pottsville’s next Mayor.
First, he said under Pennsylvania’s Third-class City Code, in a situation where a Mayor resigns, the Director of Accounts and Finance becomes the Acting Mayor.
Then, he addressed how he became the presumptive nominee.
He said, “In the two weeks since the last Council meeting, up until last Wednesday’s scheduled special session of Council, no one other than myself had come forward and expressed the desire to be Mayor.”
Atkinson said that has since changed with the interest expressed by Reno.
“But until that time that the agenda was made for last Wednesday’s meeting, no one else had come forward,” Atkinson said.
He then attempted to dispel the idea that council members met or deliberated outside the public view to appoint him as Mayor.
“I individually spoke to my counterparts and asked for their support,” Atkinson said. “Thus, my name was put on the agenda for the last special session as the appointee for Mayor.”
He said, as he did following Wednesday’s hearing at the Courthouse, Atkinson said that press release was put together in the spirit of transparency.
“In the spirit, and all intent of public transparency, and to let the people know that the city would have a new Mayor, because in that two-week timeframe, I fielded that a lot of questions from the citizens of this community as to what was occurring,” Atkinson said. “There was a lot of questions, a lot of concern.”
Atkinson then took ownership of what he called a mistake in the issuance of that press release, which did touch off a lot of questions and that lawsuit.
“I had asked that a press release be issued,” Atkinson said. “We all know today that the wording on that was not as it should have been and created a lot of problems. I take full responsibility for that. I am deeply sorry to the citizens of this community, to our business members, and to the employees of this city.”
Atkinson touted his military experience in the Marines in saying, “In the true spirit of Marine Corps leadership, I take responsibility for all of my actions, all of my decisions … right, wrong, or indifferent.”
He said the press release last week, “turned out to be a mistake.”
“I am deeply apologetic for it,” he added.
Regarding the idea that a special or secret meeting had happened to name him as the next Mayor, Atkinson denied that.
“There was much speculation that a special meeting had occurred … a secret meeting had occurred. That did not happen,” he said. “That press release was intended in goodwill to inform our community. It did not go that way. And for that, I apologize.
After council members voted to appoint him as Mayor, Atkinson then resigned as Director of Accounts and Finance, vacating the seat he’d won in election three years ago. The four council members, including Atkinson as Mayor, now have 30 days to vote on a replacement for that vacant seat.
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